

mm^mm 






A 

TREATISE 

OK 

THE THEORY AND PRACTICE 

OP 

LANDSCAPE GARDENING, 

ADAPTED TO 

NORTH AMERICA; 

WITH A VIEW TO 

THE IMPROVEMENT OF COUNTRY RESIDENCES. 

COMI'RISINO 

HISTORICAL NOTICES AND GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF THE ART, 

DIRECTIONS FOR LAYING OUT GROUNDS AND ARRANGING PLANTATIONS, 

THE DESCRIPTION AND CULTIVATION OF HARDY TREES, 

DECORATIVE ACCOMPANIMENTS TO THE HOUSE AND GROUNDS, 
THE FORMATION OF PIECES OF ARTIFICIAL WATER, FLOWER GARDENS, ETC. 

WITH REMARKS ON 

RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 

i^ourtl) (Edition, 

ENLARGED, REVISED, AND NEWLY ILLUSTRATED. 



BY AV J. DOWNING, 

AfTHOR OF DtCSIONS FOR COTTAGE RESIDENCES, ETC. 



"Insult not Nature with absurd expense, 
Nor sjwU her simple cliurins \>y vain pretence ; 
Weigh well tlie subject, he witli cuution bold, 
Profuse of genius, not profuse of gold." 



NEW YORK: 
GEORGE P. PUTNAM, 155 BROADWAY 
LONDON: 
LOXGMAN, BROWN, GREEN & LONGMANS. 
J49. 

Of f tCf ^ 

OF THE 

ISUPG. APCH'Tj 
TREASURY / 
OEPT 



53411 



Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1849, by 

GEORGE P. PUTNAM, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New Vork. 



10 

1 I 1944 
\^:n^ Rci.'/fd omsm 



R. CRAIGHKAD, I'RINTKR, 
112 rULTON STRKET, NEW YORK. 



JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, LL.D., 

EX-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES; 

THE LOVEK OF RURAL PURSUITS, 

AS n'KLL Aa 

THE D I S T I N G L' I S H E D PATRIOT, S T A T E S M A \ , 

AND sage; 
THIS VOLUME, 

BY PERMI3SIO?(, 

la RESPECTFULLY AND AFFECTIONATELY 

DEDICATED, 

BY HIS FRIEND, 

THE AUTHOR. 



PREFACE 



TO THE FOURTH EDITIOX. 



It is even more gratifying to the author of this work to 
know, from actual observation, that the pubHc taste in 
Rural Embellishment has, within a few years past, made 
the most rapid progress in this country, than to feel assured 
by the call for a fourth edition, that his own imperfect 
labors for the accomplishment of that end have been most 
kindly appreciated. 

In the present edition considerable alterations and 
amendments have been made in some portions — especially 
in that section relating to the nature of the Beautiful and 
the Picturesque. The difference among critics regarding 
natural expression and its reproduction in Landscape 
Gardening, has led him more carefully to examine this 
part of the subject, in order, if possible, to present it in 
the clearest and most definite manner. 

The whole work has also been revised, and more 
copiously illustrated, and is now offered in a more com- 
plete form than in any previous edition. 

A. J. D. 

Newburgh, New York, Jan. 1849. 



PREFACE. 



A TASTE for rural improvements of every description 
is advancing silently, but with great rapidity in this country. 
While yet in the far west the pioneer constructs his rude 
hut of logs for a dwelling, and sweeps away with his axe 
the lofty forest trees that encumber the ground, in the 
older portions of the Union, bordering the Atlantic, we 
are surrounded by all the luxuries and refinements that 
belong to an old and long cultivated country. Within the 
last ten years, especially, the evidences of the growing 
wealth and prosperity of our citizens have become 
apparent in the great increase of elegant cottage and villa 
residences on the banks of our noble rivers, along our 
rich valleys, and wherever nature seems to invite us by 
her rich and varied charms. 

In all the expenditure of means in these improvements, 
amounting in the aggregate to an immense sum, pro- 
fessional talent is seldom employed in Architecture or 
Landscape Gardening, but almost every man fancies 
himself an amateur, and endeavors to plan and arrange his 
own residence. With but little practical knowledge, and 
few correct principles for his guidance, it is not surprising 
that we witness much incongruity and great waste of time 
and money. Even those who are familiar with foreign 
works on the subject in question labor under many 
obstacles in practice, which grow out of the difference in 
our soil and climate, or our social and political position. 

These views have so often presented themselves to me of 
late, and have been so frequently urged by persons 
desiring advice, that I have ventured to prepare the present 
volume, in the hope of supplying, in some degree, the 



Vlll PREFACB. 

desideratum so much felt at present. While we have 
treatises, in abundance, on the various departments of the 
arts and sciences, there has not appeared even a single 
essay on the elegant art of Landscape Gardening. Hun- 
dreds of individuals who wish to ornament their grounds 
and embellish their places, are at a loss how to proceed, 
from the want of some leading principles, with the 
knowledge of which they would find it comparatively easy 
to produce delightful and satisfactory results. 

In the following pages I have attempted to trace out 
such principles, and to suggest practicable methods of 
embellishing our Rural Residences, on a scale com- 
mensurate to the views and means of our proprietors. 
While I have availed myself of the works of European 
authors, and especially those of Britain, where Landscape 
Gardening was first raised to the rank of a fine art, I have 
also endeavored to adapt my suggestions especially to this 
country and to the peculiar wants of its inhabitants. 

As a people descended from the English stock, we 
inherit much of the ardent love of rural life and its pursuits 
which belongs to that nation ; but our peculiar position, in 
a new world that required a population full of enterprise 
and energy to subdue and improve its vast territory, has, 
until lately, left but little time to cultivate a taste for Rural 
Embellishment. But in the older states, as wealth has 
accumulated, the country become populous, and society 
more fixed in its character, a return to those simple and 
fascinating enjoyments to be found in country life and 
rural pursuits, is witnessed on every side. And to this 
innate feeling, out of which grows a strong attachment to 
natal soil, we must look for a counterpoise to the great 
tendency towards constant change, and the restless spirit 
of emigration, which form part of our national character ; 
and which, though to a certain extent highly necessary to 
our national prosperity, are, on the other hand, opposed to 
social and domestic happiness. " In the midst of the 
continual movement which agitates a democratic com- 
munity," says the most philosophical writer who has yet 
discussed our institutions, " the tie which unites one 
generation to another is relaxed or broken ; every man 



PREFACE. IX 

readily loses the trace of the ideas of his forefathers, or 
takes no care about them." 

The love of country is inseparably connected with the 
love of home. Whatever, therefore, leads man to assemble 
the comforts and elegancies of life around his habitation, 
tends to increase local attachments, and render domestic 
life more delightful ; thus not only augmenting his own 
enjoyment, but strengthening his patriotism, and making 
him a better citizen. And there is no employment or 
recreation which affords the mind greater or more 
permanent satisfaction, than that of cultivating the earth 
and adorning our own property. "God Almighty first 
planted a garden ; and, indeed, it is the purest of human 
pleasures," says Lord Bacon. And as the first man was 
shut out from the garden, in the cultivation of which no 
alloy was mixed with his happiness, the desire to return to 
it seems to be implanted by nature, more or less strongly, 
in every heart. 

In Landscape Gardening the country gentleman of 
leisure finds a resource of the most agreeable nature. 
While there is no more rational pleasure than that derived 
from its practice by him, who 

" Plucks life's roses in his quiet fields," 

the enjoyment drawn from it (unlike many other amuse- 
ments) is unembittered by the after recollection of pain 
or injury inflicted on others, or the loss of moral rectitude. 
In rendering his home more beautiful, he not only con- 
tributes to the happiness of his own family, but improves 
the taste, and adds loveliness to the country at large. 
There is, perhaps, something exclusive in the taste for 
some of the fine arts. A collection of pictures, for 
example, is comparatively shut up from the world, in the 
private gallery. But the sylvan and floral collections, — 
the groves and gardens, which surround the country 
residence of the man of taste, — are confined by no 
barriers narrower than the blue heaven above and 
around them. The taste and the treasures, sradualJv, but 
certainly, creep beyond the nominal boundaries of the 



X PREFACE. 

estate, and re-appear in the pot of flowers in the window, 
or the luxuriant, blossoming vines which clamber over the 
porch of the humblest cottage by the way side. 

In the present volume I have sought, by rendering 
familiar to the reader most of the beautiful sylvan ma- 
terials of the art, and by describing their peculiar effects 
in Landscape Gardening, to encourage a taste among 
general readers. And I have also endeavored to place 
before the amateur such directions and guiding principles 
as, it is hoped, will assist him materially in laying out 
his grounds and arranging the general scenery of his 
residence. 

The lively interest of late manifested in Rural Architec- 
ture, and its close connexion with Landscape Gardening, 
have induced me to devote a portion of this work to the 
consideration of buildings in rural scenery. 

I take pleasure in acknowledging my obligations and 
returning thanks to my valued correspondent, J. C. Loudon, 
Esq., F. L. S., etc., of London, the most distinguished 
gardening author of the age, for the illustrations and 
description of the English Suburban Cottage in the 
Appendix; to the several gentlemen in this country who 
have kindly furnished me with plans or drawings of their 
residences ; and to A. J. Davis, Esq., of New York, and J. 
Notman, Esq., of Philadelphia, architects, for architectural 
drawings and descriptions. 



OFFICE \ 

OF THE 

ISUP'G. ARCH' • 
TREASURY 
DEPT 



CONTENTS 



SECTION I. 

HISTORICAL SKETCHES. 

Objects of the art, page 18. The ancient and modem styles, p. 21. Their 
peculiarities, p. 23. Origin of the modern and natural style, p. 31. Influence 
of the English poets and writers, p. 32. Examples of the art abroad, p. 38. 
Landscape Gardening in North America, and e.xamples now existing, p. 40. 



SECTION II. 

BEAUTIES OF LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

Capacities of the art, p. 61. The beauties of the ancient style, p. 62. 
The Beautiful and the Picturesque ; their distinctive characteristics, with 
illustrations drawn from nature and painting, p. 63. Nature and principles of 
Landscape Gardening as an imitative art, p. 66. The Production of Beautiful 
Landscape, 67. Of Picturesque do., 68. Simple beauty of the art, p. 78. 
The principles of Unity, Harmony, and Variety, p. 80. 



SECTION IIL 

WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 

The beauty of trees in rural embellishments, p. 85. Pleasure resulting from 
their cultivation, p. 88. Plantations in the ancient style ; their formality, p. 
89. In the modern style, p. 94. Grouping trees, p. 95. Arrangement and 
grouping in the Graceful school, p. 101. In the Picturesque school, p. 102. 



XU CONTENTS. 

Illustrations in planting villa, ferme ornee, and cottage grounds, p. 113. 
General classification of trees as to forms, with leading characteristics of each 
class, p. 123. 



SECTION IV. 

DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 

The histoiy and description of all the finest hardy deciduous trees. Re- 
marks on their effects in Landscape Gardening, individually, and in composi- 
tion ; their cultivation, etc. The oak, p. 139. The elm, p. 152. The plane or 
buttonwood, p. 158. The ash, p. 162. The lime or linden, p. 167. The 
beech, p. 171. The poplar, p. 175. The horse chestnut, p. 181. The 
birch, p. 184. The alder, p. 189. The maple, p. 191. The locust, p. 196. 
The three-thorned acacia, p. 200. The Judas tree, p. 202. The chestnut, p. 
204. The Osage orange, p. 209. The mulberry, p. 211. The paper-mul- 
berry, p. 214. The sweet gum, p. 215. The walnut, p. 218. The hickory, 
p. 222. The mountain ash, p. 226. The ailantus, p. 230. The Kentucky 
coffee, p. 232. The willow, p. 234. The sassafras, p. 241. The catalpa, p. 
242. The persimon, p. 244. The peperidge, p. 246. The thorn, p. 248. 
The magnolia, p. 250. The tulip-tree, p. 255. The dogwood, p. 259. The 
ginko, p. 261. The American cypress, p. 264. The larch, p. 268. The 
Virgilia, p. 276. The Paulownia, p. 278. 



SECTION V. 

EVERGREEN ORNAMENTAL TREES. 

The history and description of all the finest hardy evergreen trees. Re- 
marks on their effects in Landscape Gardening, individually and in composi- 
tion. Their cultivation, etc. The pines, p. 280. The firs, p. 290. The 
cedar of Lebanon, and Deodar cedar, p. 296. The red cedar, p. 300. The 
arbor vitfe, p. 301. The holly, p. 304. The yew, p. 306. 



SECTION VI. 

TINES AND CLIMBING- PLANTS. 

Value of this kind of vegetation ; — fine natural effects, p. 312. The 
European ivy, p. 316. The Virginia creeper, p. 316. The wild grape-vine, 
p. 317. The bittersweet, — the trumpet creeper, p. 317. The pipe vine, p. 



CONTENTS. XIU 

318. The clematis, — the wistaria, p. 319. The honeysuckles and wood- 
bines, p. 320. The climbing roses, p. 322. The jasmine and periploca, p. 
323. Remarks on the proper mode of introducing vines, p. 324. Beautiful 
effects of climbing plants in connexion with buildings, p. 325. 



SECTION VII. 

TREATMENT OF GROUND FORMATION OF WALKS. 

Nature of operations on ground, p. 327. Treatment of flowing and of 
irregular surfaces to heighten their expression, p. 328, — of flats or level 
surfaces, p. 331. Rocks, as materials in landscape, p. 334. Laying out 
roads and walks ; the approach, p. 33G. Rules by Rcpton, p. 339. The 
drive and minor walks, p. 341. The introduction of fences, p. 343. Ver- 
dant hedges, p. 344. 



SECTION VIII. 

TREATMENT OF WATER. 

Beautiful effects of this element in nature, p. 347. In what cases it is de- 
sirable to attempt the formation of artificial pieces of water, p. 348. Regular 
forms unpleasing, p. 350. Directions for the formation of ponds or lakes in 
the irregular manner, p. 351. Study of natural lakes, 352. Islands, p. 358. 
Planting the margin, p. 360. Treatment of natural brooks and rivulets, p. 
363. Cascades and water-falls, 364. Legitimate sphere of the art in this 
department, p. 366. 

SECTION IX. 

LANDSC.ilPE OR RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 

Difference between a city and country house, p. 369. The characteinstic 
features of a country house, p. 370. E.xamination of the leading principles in 
Rural Architecture, p. 371. The harmonious union of buildings and scenery, 
377. The different styles, p. 380. The Grecian style, its merits and associa- 
tions, p. 381. Its defects for domestic purposes, p. 382. The Roman style. 
The Italian style, p. 385 ; — its peculiar features, and examples in this country, 
p. 388. Associations of the Italian style, p. 390. Swiss style, p. 392. The 
pointed or Gothic style, — leading features, p. 693. Castellated buildings, p. 
396. The Tudor mansion, p. 398. Examples here, p. 400. The Eliza- 



XIV CONTENTS. 

bethan style, p. 401. The old English cottage, — its features, p. 402. Asso- 
ciations of the pointed style, p. 405. Examples in this country, p. 409. 
Individual tastes, p. 411. Entrance lodges, p. 412. 



SECTION X. 

EMBELLISHMENTS ; ARCHITECTURAL, RUSTIC, AND FLORAL. 

Value of a proper connexion between the house and grounds, p. 419. 
Beauty of the architectural terrace, and its. application to villas and cottages, p- 
420. Use of vases of different descriptions, p. 424. Sundials, p. 427. 
Architectural flower-garden, p. 428. Irregular flower-garden, p. 429. 
French flower-garden, p. 430. English flower-garden, p. 430. Mingled 
flower-garden, p. 437. General remarks on this subject, p. 437. Selec- 
tions of showy plants, flowering in succession, p. 438. Arrangement of 
the shrubbery, and selection of choice shrubs, p. 442. The conservatory and 
green-house, 448. Open and covered seats, p. 454. Pavilions, p. 456. Rus- 
tic seats, p. 456. Prospect towers, p. 459. Bridges, p. 460. Rockwork, p. 
461. Fountains of various descriptions, p. 466. Judicious introduction of 
decorations, p. 472. 



APPENDIX 



I. Notes on transplanting trees, p. 475. Reasons for frequent failures in 
removing large trees, p. 476. Directions for performing this operation, p. 
478. Selection of subjects, p. 479. Preparing trees for removal, p. 481. 
Transplanting evergreens, p. 482. 



II. Description of an English suburban residence, Chcshunt Cottage, p. 
484. With views and plans showing the arrangement of the house and 
grounds, p. 485. And mode of managing the whole premises, p. 487. 

III. Note on the treatment of Lawns, p. 525. 

IV. Note on professional quackery, p. 527. 

V. Note on roads and walks, p. 530. 



ESSAY ON LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



SECTION I. 

HISTORICAL SKETCHES, 

Ofcjects of the Art. The ancient and modern styles. Their peculiarities. Sketch of the 
ancient style, and the rise and progress of the modern style. Influence of the English 
poets and writers. Examples of the art abroad. Landscape Gardening in North 
America, and examples now existing. 

" L'un a nos yeux pr^sente 
D'un (lepseiii regulier I'Grclonnance imposante, 
Prete aux champs des beautes qifils ne connaissaicni pas, 
D'une pompe ^trangere embellit leur appas, 
Donne aux arbres des lois, auK ondes des entrav<;s, 
Et, despote orgueilleux, brille entoure d'esclavesj 
Son air est moins riant et plus majestueux, 
L'autre, de la nature amant respectueux, 
L'orne sans la fiu-der, traite avec indulgence 
Ses caprices channants, sa noble negligence, 
Sa marche irreguliere, et fait naitre avec art 
Des beautes du dtsordre, et raeme du hasard." 




'■s"' U R first, most 
endearing, and 
most sacred associations," says the amiable Mrs. Hofland, 
" are connected with gardens ; our most simple and most 



18 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

refined perceptions of beauty are combined with them." 
And we may add to this, that Landscape Gardening, which 
is an artistical combination of the beautiful in nature and 
art — an union of natural expression and harmonious culti- 
vation — is capable of affording us the highest and most in- 
tellectual enjoyment to be found in any cares or pleasures 
belonging to the soil. 

The development of the Beautiful is the end and aim of 
Landscape Gardening, as it is of all other fine arts. The 
ancients sought to attain this by a studied and elegant 
regularity of design in their gardens ; the moderns, by the 
creation or improvement of grounds which, though of limit- 
ed extent, exhibit a highly graceful or picturesque epitome 
of natural beauty. Landscape Gardening differs from gar- 
dening in its common sense, in embracing the whole scene 
immediately about a country house, which it softens and 
refines, or renders more spirited and striking by the aid of 
art. In it we seek to embody our ideal of a rural home ; 
not through plots of fruit trees, and beds of choice flowers, 
though these have their place, but by collecting and combin- 
ing beautiful forms in trees, surfaces of ground, buildings, 
and walks, in the landscape surrounding us. It is, in short, 
the Beautiful, embodied in a home scene. And we attain 
it by the removal or concealment of everything uncouth 
and discordant, and by the introduction and preservation of 
forms pleasing in their expression, their outlines, and their 
fitness for the abode of man. In the orchard, we hope to 
gratify the palate ; in the flower garden, the eye and the 
smell ; but in the landscape garden we appeal to that sense 
of the Beautiful and the Perfect, which is one of the high- 
est attributes of our nature. 

This embellishment of nature, which we call Landscape 



HISTORICAL NOTICES. 19 

Gardening, springs naturally from a love of country life, 
an attachment to a certain spot, and a desire to render 
that place attractive — a feeling which seems more or less 
strongly fixed in the minds of all men. But we should 
convey a false impression, were we to state that it may be 
applied with equal success to residences of every class and 
size, in the country. Lawn and trees, being its two essen- 
tial elements, some of the beauties of Landscape Gardening 
may, indeed, be shown wherever a rood of grass surface, 
and half a dozen trees are within our reach ; we may, even 
with such scanty space, have tasteful grouping, varied sur- 
face and agreeably curved walks ; but our art, to appear 
to advantage, requires some extent of surface — its lines 
should lose themselves indefinitely, and unite agreeably and 
gradually with those of the surrounding country. 

In the case of large landed estates, its capabilities mav 
be displayed to their full extent, as from fifty to five hun- 
dred acres may be devoted to a park or pleasure gi'ounds. 
Most of its beauty, and all its charms, may, however, be 
enjoyed in ten or twenty acres, fortunately situated, and 
well treated ; and Landscape Gardening, in America, com- 
bined and working in harmony as it is with our fine 
scenery, is already beginning to give us results scarcely less 
beautiful than those produced by its finest efforts abroad. 
The lovely villa residences of our noble river and lake 
margins, when well treated — even in a few acres of taste- 
ful fore-ground, — seem so entirely to appropriate the whole 
adjacent landscape, and to mingle so sweetly in their out- 
lines with the woods, the valleys, and shores around them, 
that the effects are often truly enchanting. 

But if Landscape Gardening, in its proper sense, cannot 
be applied to the embellishment of the smallest cottage 



20 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

residences in the country, its principles may be studied 
with advantage, even by him who has only three trees to 
plant for ornament ; and we hope no one will think his 
grounds too small, to feel willing to add something to the 
general amount of beauty in the country. If the possessor 
of the cottage acre, would embellish in accordance with 
propriety, he must not, as we have sometimes seen, render 
the whole ridiculous by aiming at ambitious and costly em- 
bellishments ; but he will rather seek to delight us by the 
good taste evinced in the tasteful simplicity of the whole 
arrangement. And if the proprietors of our country villas, 
in their improvements, are more likely to run into any one 
error than another, we fear it will be that of too great a 
desire for display — too many vases, temples, and seats, — 
and too little purity and simplicity of general effect. 

The inquiring reader will perhaps be glad to have a 
glance at the history and progress of the art of tasteful 
gardening ; a recurrence to which, as well as to the history 
of the fine arts, will afford abundant proof that, in the first 
stage or infancy of all these arts, while the perception of 
their ultimate capabilities is yet crude and imperfect, man- 
kind has, in every instance, been completely satisfied with 
the mere exhibition of design or art. Thus in Sculpture, 
the first statues were only attempts to imitate inidely the 
form of a human figure, or in painting, to represent that of 
a tree : the skill of the artist, in effecting an imitation suc- 
cessfully, being sufficient to excite the astonishment and 
admiration of those who had not yet made such advances 
as to enable them to appreciate the superior beauty of 
expression. 

Landscape Gardening is, indeed, only a modern word, 
first coined, we believe, by Shenstone, since the art has 



HISTORICAL NOTICES. 21 

been based upon natural beauty ; but as an extensively em- 
bellished scene, filled with rare trees, fountains, and statues, 
may, however artificial, be termed a landscape garden, 
the classical gardens are fairly included in a retrospective 
view. 

All late authors agree in these two distinct and widely 
diflferent modes of the art ; 1st, the Ancient, Formal, or 
Geometric Style ; 2d, the Modern, Natural, or Irregular 
Style. 

The Ancient Style. A predominance of regular forms 
and right lines is the characteristic feature of the ancient 
style of gardening. The value of art, of power, and of 
wealth, were at once easily and strongly shown by an arti- 
ficial arrangement of all the materials ; an arrangement the 
more striking, as it diflfered most widely from nature. And 
in an age when costly and stately architecture was most 
abundant, as in the times of the Roman empire, it is natural 
to suppose, that the symmetry and studied elegance of the 
palace, or the villa, would be transferred and continued in 
the surrounding gardens. 

Nothing fills so grand a place in the history of the gar- 
dening of antiquity, as the great hanging gardens of Baby- 
lon. A series of terraces supported by stone pillars, rising 
one above the other three hundred feet in height, and 
planted w ith rows of all manner of stately trees, shrubs and 
flowers, interspersed with seats, and watered and supplied 
with fountains from the Euphrates ; all this was indeed a 
princely effort of the great king, to recall to his Median 
queen the beauties of her native country. The " Paradises" 
of the Persians seem not only to have had straight walks 
bordered with blossoming trees, and overhung with exqui- 
site lines of roses and other odoriferous shrubs, but to have 



22 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

been interspersed with occasional thickets, and varied with 
fountains, prospect towers, and aviaries for singing birds. 

The Athenians borrowed their taste in gardens from 
Persia. The hrne tree and the box hned their walks, and 
bore patiently the shears of symmetry ; and a passion for 
fragrant flowers seems to have been greatly indulged 
by them. Their most celebrated philosophers made the 
sylvan, or landscape gardens of their time, their favorite 
schools. And the gardens of Epicurus and Plato appear 
to have been symmetrical groves of the olive, plane, and 
elm, enriched by elegant statues, monuments, and temples, 
the beauty of which, for their peculiar purpose, has never 
been surpassed by any example of more modern times. 
Among the Romans, ornamental gardening seems to have 
been not a little studied. The villas of the Emperors Nero 
and Adrian were enriched with everything magnificent 
and pleasing in their grounds ; and the classically famous 
villas of Cicero at Arpinum, and of Pliny at Tusculum, 
with Caesar's 

" Private arbors, and new planted orchards. 
On this side Tiber," 

are among the most celebrated specimens of the taste, 
among the ancients. Pliny's garden, of which a pretty 
minute account remains, — filled with cypresses and bay 
trees, planted to form a coursing place or hippodrome, 
adorned with vis-d-vis figures of animals cut in box trees, 
and decorated with fountains and marble alcoves, shaded 
by vines — seems, indeed, to have been the true classical 
type of all the later efforts of modern continental nations 
in their geometric gardens. 

Of the latter, the Italians have been most successful in 



HISTORICAL NOTICES. 23 

their ornamental grounds. Their beautiful marbles seem 
to have been supplied by Art in too great profusion to be 
confined even to the colonnades of their villas, and broad 
enriched terraces, vases, and statues, everywhere enliven, 
and contrast with, the verdure of the foliage ; trees and 
plants being often less abundant than the sculptural orna- 
ments which they serve to set off to advantage. An island 
— Isola Bella — in one of their little lakes, has often been 
quoted as the most highly wrought type of the Italian 
taste ; " a barren rock," says a spirited writer, " rising in the 
midst of a lake, and producing but a few poor lichens, which 
has been conveyed into a pyramid of terraces supported on 
arches, and ornamented with bays and orange trees of 
amazing size and beauty." The Villa Borghese, at Rome, 
is one of the most celebrated later examples, with its 
pleasure grounds three miles in circumference, filled with 
symmetrical walks, and abounding with an endless pro- 
fusion of sculpture. 

The old French gardens diflfer little from those of Italy, 
if we except that, with the same formality, they have more 
of theatrical display — frequently substituting gilt trellises 
and wooden statues for the exquisite marble balustrades 
and sculptured ornaments of the Italians. But we must 
not forget the crowning glory of the Geometric style, the 
gardens of Louis XIV. at Versailles. A prince whose grand 
idea of a royal garden was not compassed under two hun- 
dred acres devoted to that purpose, and who, when shown 
the bills of cost in their formation, amounting to two hun- 
dred millions of francs, quietly threw them into the fire, 
could scarcely fail, whatever the style of art adopted, in 
producing a scene of great splendor. He was fortunate, too, 
in his gardener, Le Notre, whose ideas, scarcely less superb 

. OFFICL 

, OFTHf 

SUP'G. ARC^^ 
^ TREASURE 



24 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

than those of his master, kept pace so closely with his 
fancies, that he received the honor of knighthood, and was 
made general director of all the buildings and gardens of 
the time. 

" The gardens of Versailles," says a tasteful English 
reviewer, " may indeed be taken as the great exemplar of 
this style ; and magnificent indeed they are, if expense 
and extent and variety suffice to make up magnificence. 
To draw petty figures in dwarf-box and elaborate pat- 
terns in parti-colored sand, might well be dispensed with 
where the formal style was carried out on so grand a scale 
as this, but otherwise the designs of Le Notre differ little 
from that of his predecessors in the geometric style, save in 
their monstrous extent. The great wonder of Versailles 
was the well known labyrinth, not such a maze as is really 
the source of so much idle amusement at Hampton Court, 
but a mere ravel of interminable walks, closely fenced in 
with high hedges, in which thirty-nine of iEsop's fables 
were represented by painted copper figures of birds and 
beasts, each group connected with a separate fountain, and 
all spouting water out of their mouths ! Every tree was 
planted with geometrical exactness, and parterre answered 
to parterre across half a mile of gravel. ' Such symmetry,' 
says Lord Byron, ' is not for solitude ;' and certainly, the 
gardens of Versailles were not planted with any such in- 
tent. The Parisians do not throng there for the contempla- 
tion to be found in the ' trim gardens ' of Milton, There 
is indeed a melancholy, but not a pleasing one, in wander- 
ing alone, through those many acres of formal hornbeam, 
when we feel that it requires the ' galliard and clinquant ' 
air of a scene of Watteau ; its crowds and love-making — its 
hoops and minuets — a ringing laugh and merry tamborine 



HISTORICAL NOTICES. 25 

— to make us recognise the real genius of the place. 
Taking Versailles on the gigantic type of the French 
school it need scarcely be said that it embraces broad 
gravelled terraces, long alleys of yew and hornbeam, vast 
orangeries, groves planted in the quincunx style, and 
water-works embellished with, and conducted through 
every variety of sculptured ornament. It takes the middle 
line between the other two geometric schools — admitting 
more sculpture and other works of art than the Italian, but 
not overpowered with the same number of ' huge masses 
of littleness ' as the Dutch. There is more of promenade, 
less of parterre; more gravel than turf; more of the de- 
ciduous than the evergreen tree. The practical water-wit 
of drenching the spectators was in high vogue in the 
ancient French gardens ; and Evelyn, in his account of 
the Duke de Richelieu's villa, describes with some relish 
how ' on going, two extravagant musketeers shot at us 
with a stream of water from their musket barrels." Con- 
trivances for dousing the visitors — ' especially the ladies' — 
which once filled so large a space in the catalogue of every 
show place, seem to militate a little against the national 
character of gallantry ; but the very fact that everything 
was done to surprise the spectator and stranger, evinces 
how different was their idea of a garden from the home and 
familiar pleasures which an Englishman looks to in his." 

It is scarcely necessary for us to say, that this new splen- 
dor of the French in their gardens was more or less copied, 
at the time, all over Europe. " Ainsi font les Fr-an^ais — 
voila ce que fai vu en France," was the law of fashion in 
the gardening taste from which there was no higher court 
of appeal. But, in copying, every nation seems to have 
mingled with the " grand style" some elementary notions 



26 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

of its own, expressive of national character or locality. 
The most marked of these imitators were the Dutch, 
whose style of ornamental gardening seems sufficiently 
unique to be worthy of being considered a separate school. 
And how shall we characterize the Dutch school, which 
even to this day, in the Low Countries, has scarcely given 
way to the continental admiration for the ''jardin Anglais;" 
this double distilled compound of labored symmetry, regu- 
larity, and stiffiiess, which seems to convey to the quiet own- 
ers so much pleasure, and to the tasteful traveller and critic 
so much despair ! A stagnant and muddy canal, with a bridge 
thrown over it, and often connected with a circular fish- 
pond ; a grass slope and a mound of green turf, on which 
is a pleasure or banqueting house with gilt ornaments ; num- 
berless clipped trees, and every variety of trellis-work lively 
with green paint ; in the foreground beds of gay bulbs and 
florists' flowers, interspersed with huge orange trees in tubs, 
and in the distance smooth green meadows — such are the 
unvarying features of the Hollander's garden or grounds.* 
The true Dutchman looks upon his garden as a quiet place 
to smoke and be " content" in ; if he lazily saunters through, 
it is rather to enjoy the gay pencillings of some new bed of 
tulips than to enjoy the elegance and harmony of its design, 
the variety of scenery, or the freshness and beauty of the 
toliage. At the same time, he is neither exclusive nor secret 
with the stores of enjoyment which he has within its bounds ; 
and very many of the private villas near Rotterdam, and in 
other parts of Holland, have mottoes like those inscribed 

* In the neighborhood of Antwei-p, not a long time since, was the villa 
of M. Smetz, where, among many things that were pretty, was the odd con- 
ceit of a lawn on which were a shepherd, his flock of sheep, and his dog 
cut in stone, and always looking " pastoral and country like." 



HISTORICAL NOTICHS. 27 

over the gateways — " Tranquil and Content," " My desire 
is satisfied " — (genegentheiel is volden) — " Friendship and 
sociability," and numerous others of a similar import. 

As modern landscape gardening owes its existence al- 
most entirely to the English, we must take a rapid glance 
at the early condition of the art in Great Britain, and its 
subsequent development to the present time. 

It would appear to be an undeniable fact in the history 
of ornamental gardening that, from the time of William the 
Conqueror down to the latter part of the reign of Queen 
Anne, and the beginning of that of George I., nothing was 
considered garden scenery except it was in the formal and 
geometric style. 

The royal gardens of Henry VIII., at Nonsuch Palace, 
laid out in the beginning of the sixteenth century, may per- 
haps be taken as a type of the highest ideal of a garden at 
that period. Heutzner, in speaking of this place, after 
describing it as abounding in every species of costly mag- 
nificence, adds, — 

" This, which no equal has in art or fame, 
Britons deservedly do Nonsuch name." 

Loudon remarks that " these gardens are stated, in a 
survey taken in the year 1650, above a century after 
Henry's death, to have been cut and divided into several 
alleys, compartments, and rounds, set about with thorn 
hedges. On the north side was a kitchen garden, very 
commodious, and surrounded with a wall fourteen feet high. 
On the west was a wilderness severed from the little park 
by a hedge, the whole containing ten acres. In the privy 
gardens were fountains and basins of marble, one of which 
is 'set round with six lilac trees, which trees bear no fruit, 



28 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

but only a pleasant smell.' In the kitchen garden were 
seventy-two fruit trees and one lime tree. Lastly, before 
the palace, was a neat handsome bowling-green, surrounded 
with a balustrade of freestone." Another writer, describing 
Nonsuch when in perfection, says, "In the pleasure and 
artificial gardens are many columns and pyramids of mar- 
ble, two fountains that spout water, one round and the 
other like a pyramid, upon which are perched small birds 
that stream water out of their bills. There is besides 
another pyramid of marble full of concealed pipes, which 
spirt upon all who come within their reach." 
f~In the reign of Elizabeth " trim gardens" seem to have 
been in high favor. Hatfield was one of the great estates 
of that period, and its gardens were described as " surround- 
ed by a piece of water, with boats rowing through alleys of 
well cut trees, and labarynths made with great labor. 
There are jets d'eau, and a summer house, with many 
pleasant and fair fish ponds." The Gardener s Laharynth, 
a work intended to direct the taste of that day (1571), 
gives plates of "knotts and mazes curiously handled for 
the beautifying of gardens." 

During the reign of James I. many fine country seats 
were either created or improved. Both the descriptions 
and the engravings of gardens of that period agree in pla- 
cing before us grounds surrounded by high walls, divided 
into regular squares, compartments, or parterres, and orna- 
mented with all kinds of trained and clipped trees, inter- 
spersed with statues — and, in the finest examples, not 
omitting that delightful puzzle of the time a " labarynth." 

Lord Bacon attempted to reform the national taste 
during this reign, but apparently with little immediate 
success. He wished still to retain shorn trees and hedges, 



HISTORICAL NOTICES. 20 

but proposed winter or evergreen gardens, and rude or 
neglected spots, as specimens of wild nature. " As for the 
making of knots or figures," says he, " with divers colored 
earths, they be but toys. I do not like images cut out in 
juniper or other garden stuff: they are for children."* 

One gets a condensed idea of the taste of this and the 
previous century or two by a work published at Oxford by 
Commenius during the Commonwealth. "Gardening," 
says he, " is practised for food's sake in a kitchen garden 
and orchard, or for pleasure's sake in a green grass-plot and 
an arbor." In his details of the ornamental garden he 
adds, " the pleacher {topiarius) prepares a green plat of 
the more choice flowers and rarer plants, and adorns the 
garden with pleach-work ; that is, with pleasant walks and 
bowers, &c-, to conclude with water- works." He also in- 
forms us, respecting the parks, that " the huntsman 
hunteth wild harts, whilst he either allureth them into pit- 
falls, or killeth them, and what he gets alive he puts into a 
park." 

In the reign of Charles IL the fame of Versailles, the 
most superb of all geometric gardens, created a sensation 
in England. Le Notre was of course immediately sent for 
by this monarch. He planted St James and Greenwich 
parks, and thus aided by royal patronage, inspired the no- 
bility with a desire for some of the more splendid formations 
of the French school of design. Chatsworth, the magnifi- 
cent seat of the Duke of Devonshire, was laid out in a 
grandly formal manner, and the Earl of Essex and Lord 
Capel were among the foremost to emulate the glories of 
Versailles in their country places — the former nobleman 

* Encycloptedia of Gardenings. 



30 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

sending his gardener (Rose) to France, in order to make 
himself thoroughly acquainted with all the beauties of that 
Royal garden. 

The period of William and Mary's reign was remarkable 
for no great deviation from this style, except perhaps in 
substituting partially the Dutch formalities — such as iron 
trellis- work, clipped yews, and a greater profusion of ver- 
dant sculpture. Embroidered parterres and vegetable sculp- 
ture are said indeed to have arrived at their highest 
perfection in this period, or towards the year 1700 ; and 
we may get a good notion of the subjects most in vogue, 
by an extract from Pope's keen satire, written as late as 
1713 (in the early part of Anne's reign), when it was be- 
ginning to get into disrepute. 

Inventory of a Virtuoso Gardener. Adam and Eve 
in yew ; Adam, a little shattered by the fall of the tree 
of knowledge in the great storm ; Eve and the serpent, 
very flourishing. Noah's ark in Holly ; the ribs a 
little damaged for want of water. 

The tower of Babel, not yet finished. 

St. George, in box ; his arm scarce long enough, but will 
be in a condition to stick the dragon by next April. 

Edward the Black Prince, in cypress. 

A pair of giants stunted, to be sold cheap. 

An old maid of honor, in wormwood. 

A topping Ben Jonson, in laurel. 

Divers eminent modern poets, in bays ; somewhat 
blighted. 

A quick set hog, shot up into a porcupine, by being 
forgot a week in rainy weather. 

A lavender pig, with sage growing in his belly. 

Whatever may have been the absurdities of the ancient 
style, it is not to be denied that in connexion with highly 
decorated architecture, its effect, when in the best taste — 
as the Italian — is not only splendid and striking, but highly 
suitable and appropriate. Sir Walter Scott, in an essay 



HISTORICAL NOTICES. 31 

on landscape embellishment, says, " if we approve of Pal- 
ladian architecture, the vases and balustrades of Vitruvius, 
the enriched entablatures and superb stairs of the Italian 
school of gardening, we must not, on this account, be con- 
strued as vindicating the paltry imitations of the Dutch, 
who clipped yews into monsters of every species, and re- 
lieved them with painted wooden figures. The distinction 
between the Italian and Dutch is obvious. A stone hewn 
into a gracefully ornamented vase or urn, has a value 
which it did not before possess : a yew hedge clipped into 
a fortification, is only defaced. The one is a production of 
art, the other a distortion of nature." 

It must not be forgotten that, during all this period, or 
nearly six centuries, parks were common in England. 
Henry I. (1100 to 1135) had a park at Woodstock, and 
four centuries later, or during the reign of Henry VII., 
Holinshed informs us, that large parks or inclosed forest 
portions, several miles in circumference, were so common, 
that their number in Kent and Essex alone amounted to 
upwards of a hundred. 

Although these parks were more devoted to the preser- 
vation of game and the pleasures of the chase than to any 
other purpose, their existence was, we conceive, not wholly 
owing to this cause — but we look upon them as indicating 
that love of nature and that desire to retain beautiful por- 
tions of it as part of a residence, which form the ground- 
work of the taste for the modern or landscape gardening, 
since the latter is only an epitome of nature with the 
charms judiciously heightened by art. 

The Modern Style. Down to the time of Addison, 
in the beginning of the eighteenth century, the formal style 
reigned triumphant. The gardener, the architect, and the 



32 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

sculptor — all lovers of regularity and symmetry, had re- 
tained complete mastery of its arrangements. And it is 
worthy of more than a passing remark, that when the 
change in taste did take place, it emanated from the poet, 
the painter, and the tasteful scholar, rather than from the 
practical man. 

In the poetical imagination, indeed, the ideal type of a 
modern landscape garden seems always to have been more 
or less shadowed forth. The Vaucluse of Petrarch, Tasso's 
garden of Armida, the vale of Tempe of iElian, were all 
exquisite conceptions of the modern style. And Milton, 
surrounded as he was by the splendid formalities of the 
gardens of his time, copied from no existing models, but 
feeling that Eden must have been free and majestic in its 
outlines, he drew from his inner sense of the beautiful, and 
from nature as he saw her developed in the works of the 
Creator. There, the crisped brooks, — 

" With mazy error under pendant shades 
Ran nectar, -visiting each plant, and fed 
Flowers worthy of Paradise, which not nice Art 
In beds and curious knots, but Nature boon 
Poui-'d forth profuse, on hill and dale and plain. 
Both where the morning sun first -wamily smote 
The open field, and where the unpiereed shade 
Imbrown'd the noontide bowers; thus was this place 
A happy rural seat of various view.^' 

But it required more than poetical types to change the 
long rooted fashion. The lever of satire needed to be ap- 
plied, and the golden links that bind Nature and Art, more 
clearly revealed, before the old system could be made to 
waver. 

The glory and merit of the total revolution which, about 
this time, took place in the public taste, belong, it is gene- 



HISTORICAL NOTICES. 33 

rally conceded, mainly to Addison and Pope. In 1712 ap- 
peared Addison's papers on Imagination, considered with 
reference to the works of Nature and Art. With a delicate 
and masterly hand, at a time when he possessed, through 
the " Spectator," the ear of all refined and tasteful Eng- 
land, he lifted the veil between the garden and natural 
charms, and showed how beautiful were their relations — 
how soon the imagination wearies with the stiffness of the 
former, and how much grace may be caught from a freer 
imitation of the swelling wood and hill. 

The next year Pope, who was both a poet and painter, 
opened his quiver of satire in the celebrated article on ver- 
dant sculpture in the Guardian, where he ridiculed with no 
sparing hand the sheared alleys, formal groves, and 

" Statues growing that noble place in. 
All heathen goddesses most rare, 
Homer, Plutarch, and Nebuchadnezzar, 
Standing naked in the open air !" 

Pope was a refined and skilful amateur, and his garden 
at Twickenham became a celebrated miniature type of the 
natural school. In his Epistle to Lord Burlington, he de- 
veloped sound principles for the new art ; — the study of 
nature ; the genius of the place ; and never to lose sight of 
good sense ; the latter, a rule which the whimsical follies 
of that day in gardening, seemed, doubtless, to render espe- 
cially necessary, but which the discordant abortions of am- 
bitious, would-be men of taste, prove is one soonest violated 
in every succeeding age. 

The change in the popular feeling thus created, soon 
gave rise to innovations in the practical art. Bridgeman, 
the fashionablegarden artist of the time, struck, as Horace 

/ officeN 

/ OF THE 

(SUPG. ARCH'T' 
\ TREASURY 



34 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

Walpole thinks, by Pope's criticisms, banished verdant 
sculpture from his plans, and introduced bits of forest 
scenery in the gardens at Richmond. And Loudon and 
Wise, the two noted nurserymen of the day, laid out Kensing- 
ton gardens anew in a manner so much more natural as to 
elicit the warm commendations of Addison in the Specta- 
tor. It is not too much to say that Kent was the leader of 
this class. Originally a painter, and the friend of Lord 
Burlington, he next devoted himself to the subject, and 
was, undoubtedly, the first professional landscape gardener 
in the modern style. Previous artists had confined their 
efforts within the rigid walls of the garden, but Kent, who 
saw in all nature a garden-landscape, demolished the walls, 
introduced the ha-ha, and by blending the park and the 
garden, substituted for the primness of the old inclosure, 
the freedom of i\v& pleasure-ground. His taste seems to 
have been partly formed by Pope, and the Twickenham 
garden was the prototype of those of Carlton House, Kent's 
chef d'cBUvre. And, notwithstanding his faults, " his tem- 
ples, obelisks, and gazabos of every description in the park, 
all stuck about in their respective high places," notwith- 
standing that his passion for natural effects led him into the 
absurdity of sometimes planting an old dead tree to make 
the illusion more perfect, we have no hesitation in accord- 
ing to Kent the merit of first fully establishing, in practice, 
the reform in taste which Addison and Pope had so com- 
pletely developed in theory. 

Among the landmarks of the progress of the taste, we 
must not refuse a passing notice of what seems to have been 
an unique and beautiful specimen of the new feeling for 
embellished nature — Leasowes, the " sentimental farm" of 
Shenstone. From contemporary accounts, it appears to 



HISTORICAL NOTICES. 35 

have been originally a grazing farm, from which, by taste- 
ful arrangement and planting, and pretty walks, seats, root- 
house, urns, and appropriate inscriptions, the poet created a 
scene of much pastoral and poetical beauty. 

The modern style was now running high in popular 
favor in England, but the next professor of the art. Brown, 
who seems to have been a mannerist not without some sym- 
pathy with nature, but not capable of grasping her more 
varied and expressive beauties, " Capability" Brown, as he 
was nicknamed, saw in every new place great capabilities, 
but unfortunately his own mind seems to have furnished 
but one model — a round lake, a smooth bare lawn, a clump 
of trees and a boundary belt — which he expanded, with few 
variations, to suit the compass of an estate of a thousand 
acres, or a cottage with a few roods. His works were often 
on a grand scale, and he boasted that the Thames would 
never forgive him for the rival he had created in the arti- 
ficial lake at Blenheim. " The places he altered," says 
Loudon, " are beyond all reckoning. Improvement was the 
fashion of the time ; and there was scarcely a country gen- 
tleman who did not, on some occasion or other, consult the 
gardening idol of the day." Mason, the poet, praises this 
artist, and Horace Walpole apologizes for not praising him. 
Daines Barrington says, " Kent hath been succeeded by 
Brown, who hath undoubtedly great merit in laying out 
pleasure grounds ; but I conceive, that, in some of his plans, 
I see traces rather of the kitchen gardener of old Stowe, 
than of Poussin, or Claude Lorraine." 

This mannerism gave rise finally, to the celebrated work 
On the Picturesque by Sir Uvedale Price, who, in a series 
of elegant and masterly essays, pointed out the faults and 
follies of this Brown and his imitators, analysed the beau- 



36 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

tiful and picturesque in nature and art, and founded a new 
school, more spirited and free in its aim, deriving its prin- 
ciples directly from nature and painting. These, with 
Knight's elegant Poem, the Landscape, the English Garden 
by Mason, and Whately's Observations on Modern Garden- 
ing, all published between 1750 and the beginning of the 
year 1800, established the new style firmly in the public 
mind. On the Continent, especially in France, though the 
old fashioned gardens were not demolished, as in England, 
new ones were laid out in accordance with the dawning 
taste, and none of the antique establishments were thought 
perfect without a spot set apart as ajardin Anglais. 

It is not a little remarkable that the Chinese taste in gar- 
dening, which was at first made known to the English public 
about this time, is by far the nearest previous approach to 
the modern style. Some critics, indeed, have asserted that 
the English are indebted to it for their ideas of the modern 
style. However this may be, and we confess it has very 
little weight with us, the harmonious system which the taste 
of the English has evolved in the modern style, is at the 
present day too far beyond the Chinese manner to admit of 
any comparison. The first is imbued with beauty of the 
most graceful and agreeable character, based upon nature, 
and refined by art ; while the latter abounds in puerilities 
and whimsical conceits — rocky hills, five feet high — minia- 
ture bridges — dwarf oaks, a hundred years old and twenty 
inches in altitude — which, whatever may be our admiration 
for the curious ingenuity and skill tasked in their produc- 
tion, leave on our mind no very favorable impression of the 
taste which designed them. 

The most distinguished English Landscape Gardeners of 
more recent date, are the late Humphrey Repton, who died 



HISTORICAL NOTICES. 37 

in 1818 ; and since him John Claudius Loudon, better known 
in this country, as the celebrated gardening author. Repton's 
taste in Landscape gardening was cultivated and elegant, 
and many of the finest parks and pleasure grounds of 
England, at the present day, bear witness to the skill and 
harmony of his designs. His published works are full of 
instructive hints, and at Cobham Hall, one of the finest 
seats in Britain, is an inscription to his memory, by Lord 
Darnley. 

Mr. Loudon's* writings and labors in tasteful gardening, 
are too well known, to render it necessary that we should 
do more than allude to them here. Much of what is known 
of the art in this country undoubtedly is, more or less 
directly, to be referred to the influence of his published 
works. Although he is, as it seems to us, somewhat 
deficient as an artist in imagination, no previous author 
ever deduced, so clearly, sound artistical principles in Land- 
scape Gardening and Rural Architecture ; and fitness, good 
sense, and beauty, are combined with much unity of feeling 
in all his works. 

As the modern style owes its origin mainly to the 
English, so it has also been developed and carried to its 
greatest perfection in the British Islands. The law of 
primogeniture, which has there so long existed, in itself, 
contributes greatly to the continual improvement and 
embellishment of those vast landed estates, that remain 
perpetually in the hands of the same family. Magnificent 

* While we are revising the second edition, we regret deeply to learn the death 
of Mr. Loudon. His herculean labors as an author have at last destroyed him ; 
and in his death we lose one who has done more than any other person that 
ever Uved, to popularize, and render universal, a taste for Gardening and 
Domestic Architecture. 



38 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

buildings, added to by each succeeding generation, who 
often preserve also the oldei*^ portions with the most 
scrupulous care ; wide spread parks, clothed with a thick 
velvet turf, which, amid their moist atmosphere, preserves 
during great part of the year an emerald greenness — 
studded with noble oaks and other forest trees which 
number centuries of growth and maturity ; these advan- 
tages, in the hands of the most intelligent and the 
wealthiest aristocracy in the world, have indeed made 
almost an entire landscape garden of " merry England." 
Among a multitude of splendid examples of these noble 
residences, we will only refer the reader to the celebrated 
Blenheim, the seat of the Duke of Marlborough, where 
the lake alone (probably the largest piece of artificial 
water in the world) covers a surface of two hundred acres : 
Chatsworth, the varied and magnificent seat of the Duke 
of Devonshire, where there are scenes illustrative of almost 
every style of the art : and Woburn Abbey, the grounds 
of which are full of the choicest specimens of trees and 
plants, and where the park, like that of Ashbridge, 
Arundel Castle, and several other private residences in 
England, is only embraced within a circumference of from 
ten to twenty miles. 

On the continent of Europe, though there are a multi- 
tude of examples of the modern style of landscape 
gardening, which is there called the English or natural 
style, yet in the neighborhood of many of the capitals, 
especially those of the south of Europe, the taste for 
the geometric or ancient style of gardening still prevails 
to a considerable extent ; partially, no doubt, because that 
style admits, with more facility, of those classical and 
architectural accompaniments of vases, statues, busts, etc., 



HISTORICAL NOTICES. 39 

the passion for which pervades a people rich in ancient and 
modern sculptural works of art. Indeed many of the 
gardens on the continent are more striking from their 
numerous sculpturesque ornaments, interspersed with 
fountains and jets-d'eau, than from the beauty or rarity 
of their vegetation, or from their arrangement. 

In the United States, it is highly improbable that we 
shall ever witness such splendid examples of landscape 
gardens as those abroad, to which we have alluded. Here 
the rights of man are held to be equal ; and if there are 
no enormous parks, and no class of men whose wealth is 
hereditary, there is, at least, what is more gratifying to 
the feelings of the philanthropist, the almost entire absence 
of a very poor class in the country ; while we have, on 
the other hand, a large class of independent landholders, 
who are able to assemble around them, not only the useful 
and convenient, but the agreeable and beautiful, in country 
life. 

The number of individuals among us who possess wealth 
and refinement sufficient to enable them to enjoy the 
pleasures of a country life, and who desire in their private 
residences so much of the beauties of landscape gardening 
and rural embellishment as may be had without any 
enormous expenditure of means, is every day increasing. 
And although, until lately, a very meagre plan of laying 
out the grounds of a residence, was all that we could lay 
claim to, yet the taste for elegant rural improvements is 
advancing now so rapidly, that we have no hesitation in 
predicting that in half a century more, there will exist a 
greater number of beautiful villas and country seats of 
moderate extent, in the Atlantic States, than in any 
country in Europe, England alone excepted. With us, a 



40 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

feeling, a taste, or an improvement, is contagious ; and 
once fairly appreciated and established in one portion of 
the country, it is disseminated with a celerity that is 
indeed wonderful, to every other portion. And though it 
is necessarily the case where amateurs of any art are 
more numerous than its professors, that there will be, in 
devising and carrying plans into execution, many specimens 
of bad taste, and perhaps a sufficient number of efforts to 
improve without any real taste whatever, still we are 
convinced the effect of our rural embellishments will in 
the end be highly agreeable, as a false taste is not likely 
to be a permanent one in a community where everything 
is so much the subject of criticism. 

With regard to the literature and practice of Landscape 
Gardening as an art, in North America, almost everything 
is yet before us, comparatively little having yet been 
done. Almost all the improvements of the grounds of our 
finest country residences, have been carried on under the 
direction of the proprietors themselves, suggested by their 
own good taste, in many instances improved by the study 
of European authors, or by a personal inspection of the 
finest places abroad. The only American work previously 
published which treats directly of Landscape Gardening, 
is the American Gardener s Calendar, by Bernard 
McMaiion of Philadelphia. The only practitioner of the 
art, of any note, was the late M. Parmentier of Brooklyn, 
Long Island. 

M. Andre Parmentier was the brother of that celebrated 
horticulturist, the Chevalier Parmentier, Mayor of Enghien, 
Holland. He emigrated to this country about the year 
1824, and in the Horticultural Nurseries which he esta- 
blished at Brooklyn, he gave a specimen of the natural 



HISTORICAL NOTICES. 41 

Style of laying out grounds, combined with a scientific 
arrangement of plants, which excited public curiosity, and 
contributed not a little to the dissemination of a taste for 
the natural mode of landscape gardening. 

During M. Parmeutier's residence on Long Island, he 
was almost constantly applied to for plans for laying out 
the gi'ounds of country seats, by persons in various parts 
of the Union, as well as in the immediate proximity of 
New York. In many cases he not only surveyed the 
demesne to be improved, but furnished the plants and 
trees necessary to carry out his designs. Several plans 
were prepared by him for residences of note in the South- 
ern States ; and two or three places in Upper Canada, 
especially near Montreal, were, we believe, laid out by his 
own hands and stocked from his nursery grounds. In his 
periodical catalogue, he arranged the hardy trees and 
shrubs that flourish in this latitude in classes, according to 
their height, etc., and published a short treatise on the 
superior claims of the natural, over the formal or geome- 
tric style of laying out grounds. In short, we consider M. 
Parmentier's labors and examples as having effected, 
directly, far more for landscape gardening in America, 
than those of any other individual whatever. 

The introduction of tasteful gardening in this country 
is, of course, of a very recent date. But so long ago as 
from 25 to 50 years, there were several country residences 
highly remarkable for extent, elegance of arrangement, 
and the highest order and keeping. Among these, we 
desire especially to record here the celebrated seats of 
Chancellor Livingston, Wm. Hamilton, Esq., Theodore 
Lyman, Esq., and Judge Peters. 

Woodlands, the seat of the Hamilton family, near 



42 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

Philadelphia, wks, so long ago as 1805, highly celebrated 
for its gardening beauties. The refined taste and the 
wealth of its accomplished owner, were freely lavished in 
its improvement and embellishment ; and at a time when 
the introduction of rare exotics was attended with a vast 
deal of risk and trouble, the extensive green-houses and 
orangeries of this seat contained all the richest treasures 
of the exotic flora, and among other excellent gardeners 
employed, was the distinguished botanist Pursh, whose 
enthusiastic taste in his favorite science was promoted and 
aided by Mr. Hamilton. The extensive pleasure grounds 
were judiciously planted, singly and in groups, with a 
great variety of the finest species of trees. The attention 
of the visitor to this place is now arrested by two very 
large specimens of that curious tree, the Japanese Ginko 
(Salishuria), 60 or 70 feet high, perhaps the finest in 
Europe or America, by the noble magnolias, and the rich 
park-like appearance of some of the plantations of the 
finest native and foreign oaks. From the recent un- 
healthiness of this portion of the Schuylkill, Woodlands 
has fallen into decay, but there can be no question that it 
was, for a long time, the most tasteful and beautiful 
residence in America. 

The seat of the late Judge Peters, about five miles from 
Philadelphia, was, 30 years ago, a noted specimen of the 
ancient school of landscape gardening. Its proprietor had 
a most extended reputation as a scientific agriculturist, 
and his place was also no less remarkable for the design 
and culture of its pleasure-grounds, than for the excellence 
of its farm. Long and stately avenues, with vistas 
terminated by obelisks, a garden adorned with marble 
vases, busts, and statues, and pleasure grounds filled with 



HISTORICAL NOTICES. 43 

the rarest trees and shrubs, were conspicuous features 
here. Some of the latter are now so remarkable as to 
attract strongly the attention of the visitor. Among 
them, is the chestnut planted by Washington, which 
produces the largest and finest fruit ; very large hollies ; 
and a curious old box-tree much higher than the mansion 
near which it stands. But the most striking feature now, 
is the still remaining grand old avenue of hemlocks (Abies 
canadensis). Many of these trees, which were planted 
100 years ago, are now venerable specimens, ninety feet 
high, whose huge trunks and wide spread branches are in 
many cases densely wreathed and draped with masses of 
English Ivy, forming the most picturesque sylvan objects 
we ever beheld. 

Lemon Hill, half a mile above the Fairmount water- 
works of Philadelphia, was, 20 years ago, the most perfect 
specimen of the geometric mode in America, and since its 
destruction by the extension of the city, a few years since, 
there is nothing comparable with it, in that style, among 
us. All the symmetry, uniformity, and high art of the 
old school, were displayed here in artificial plantations, 
formal gardens with trellises, grottoes, spring-houses, 
temples, statues, and vases, with numerous ponds of water, 
jets-d'eau, and other water-works, parterres and an exten- 
sive range of hothouses. The effect of this garden was 
brilliant and striking ; its position, on the lovely banks of 
the Schuylkill, admirable ; and its liberal proprietor, Mr. 
Pratt, by opening it freely to the public, greatly increased 
the popular taste in the neighborhood of that city. 

On the Hudson, the show place of the last age was the 
still interesting Clermont, then the residence of Chancellor 
Livingston. Its level or gently undulating lawn, four or 



44 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

five miles in length, the rich native woods, and the long 
vistas of planted avenues, added to its fine water view, 
rendered this a noble place. The mansion, the green- 
houses, and the gardens, show something of the French 
taste in design, which Mr. Livingston's residence abroad, 
at the time when that mode was popular, no doubt, led 
him to adopt. The finest yellow locusts in America are 
now standing in the pleasure-grounds here, and the 
gardens contain many specimens of fruit trees, the first of 
their sorts introduced into the Union. 

Waltham House, about nine miles from Boston, was, 25 
years ago, one of the oldest and finest places, as regards 
Landscape Gardening. Its owner, the late Hon. T. 
Lyman, was a highly-accomplished man, and the grounds 
at Waltham House bear witness to a refined and elegant 
taste in rural improvement. A fine level park, a mile in 
length, enriched with groups of English limes, elms, and 
oaks, and rich masses of native wood, watered by a fine 
stream and stocked with deer, were the leading features 
of the place at that time ; and this, and Woodlands, were 
the two best specimens of the modern style, as Judge 
Peters' seat. Lemon Hill, and Clermont, were of the an- 
cient style, in the earliest period of the history of Land- 
scape Gardening among us. 

There is no part of the Union where the taste in Land- 
scape Gardening is so far advanced, as on the middle por- 
tion of the Hudson. The natural scenery is of the finest 
character, and places but a mile or two apart often 
possess, from the constantly varying forms of the water, 
shores, and distant hills, widely different kinds of home 
landscape and distant view. Standing in the grounds of 
some of the finest of these seats, the eye beholds only the 




Fig 1. View in the Grounds at Hyde FarV. 



I '^-v. ■i.M' 1 1 




Fig 2. The Manor of Livingston 



HISTORICAL NOTICES, 45 

soft foreground of smooth lawn, the rich groups of trees 
shutting out all neighboring tracts, the lake-like expanse 
of water, and, closing the distance, a fine range of wooded 
mountain. A residence here of but a hundred acres, so 
fortunately are these disposed by nature, seems to appro- 
priate the whole scenery round, and to be a thousand in 
extent. 

At the present time, our handsome villa residences are 
becoming every day more numerous, and it would require 
much more space than our present limits, to enumerate 
all the tasteful rural country places w^ithin our knowledge, 
many of which have been newly laid out, or greatly im- 
])roved within a few years. But we consider it so im- 
portant and instructive to the novice in the art of Land- 
scape Gardening to examine, personally, country seats of 
a highly tasteful character, that we shall venture to refer 
the reader to a few of those w'hich have now a reputation 
among us as elegant country residences. 

Hyde Park, on the Hudson, formerly the seat of the late 
Dr. Hosack, now of W. Langdon, Esq., has been justly 
celebrated as one of the finest specimens of the modern 
style of Landscape Gardening in America. Nature has, 
indeed, done much for this place, as the grounds are finely 
varied, beautifully watered by a lively stream, and the 
views are inexpressibly striking from the neighborhood of 
the house itself, including, as they do, the noble Hudson 
for sixty miles in its course, through rich valleys and bold 
mountains. (See Fig. I.) But the efforts of art are not 
unworthy so rare a locality ; and while the native woods, 
and beautifully undulating surface, are preserved in their 
original state, the pleasure-grounds, roads, walks, drives, 
and new plantatiqiis, haye been laid out in such a judi- 

OFFICE ^ 

OF THE 

[SUP'G. ARCH'T ; 
TREASURY / 



46 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

cious manner as to heighten the charms of nature. Large 
and costly hot-houses were erected by Dr. Hosack, with 
also entrance lodges at two points on the estate, a fine 
bridge over the stream, and numerous pavilions and seats 
commanding extensive prospects ; in short, nothing was 
spared to render this a complete residence. The park, 
which at one time contained some fine deer, afforded a de- 
lightful drive within itself, as the whole estate numbered 
about seven hundred acres. The plans for laying out the 
grounds were furnished by Parmentier, and architects from 
New York were employed in designing and erecting the 
buildings. For a long time, this was the finest seat in 
America, but there are now many rivals to this claim. 

The Manor of Livingston, the seat of Mrs. Mary Living- 
ston, is seven miles east of the city of Hudson. The 
mansion stands in the midst of a fine park, rising gradually 
from the level of a rich inland country, and commanding 
prospects for sixty miles around. The park is, perhaps, 
the most remarkable in America, for the noble simplicity of 
its character, and the perfect order in which it is kept. 
The turf is, everywhere, short and velvet-like, the gravel- 
roads scrupulously firm and smooth, and near the house 
are the largest and most superb evergreens. , The mansion 
is one of the chastest specimens of the Grecian style, and 
there is an air of great dignity about the whole demesne. 
(Fig. 2.) 

Blithewood, the seat of R. Donaldson, Esq., near Barry- 
town on the Hudson, is one of the most charming villa 
residences in the Union. The natural scenery here, is 
nowhere surpassed in its enchanting union of softness and 
dignity — the river being four miles wide, its placid bosom 
broken only by islands and gleaming sails, and the horizon 



HISTORICAL NOTICES. 47 

grandly closing in with the tall blue summits of the distant 
Kaatskills. The smiling, gently varied lawn is studded 
with groups and masses of fine forest and ornamental 
trees, beneath which are walks leading in easy curves to 
rustic seats, and summer houses placed in secluded spots, 
or to openings affording most lovely prospects. (See 
Frontispiece.) In various situations near the house and 
upon the lawn, sculptured vases of Maltese stone are also 
disposed in such a manner as to give a refined and classic 
air to the grounds. 

As a pendant to this graceful landscape, there is within 
the grounds scenery of an opposite character, equally wild 
and picturesque — a fine, bold stream, fringed with woody 
banks, and dashing over several rocky cascades, thirty or 
forty feet in height, and falling altogether a hundred feet 
in half a mile. (See view^ Sect, viii.) There are also, 
within the grounds, a pretty gardener's lodge, in the rural 
cottage style, and a new entrance lodge by the gate, in the 
bracketed mode ; in short, we can recall no place of 
moderate extent, where nature and tasteful art are both so 
harmoniously combined to express grace and elegance. 

Montgomery Place (see Fig. 3), the residence of Mrs. 
Edward Livingston, which is also situated on the Hudson 
near Barrytown, deserves a more extended notice than our 
present limits allow, for it is, as a whole, nowhere sur- 
passed in America in point of location, natural beauty, or 
the landscape gardening charms which it exhibits. 

It is one of our oldest improved country seats, having 
been originally the residence of Gen. Montgomery, the hero 
of Quebec. On the death of his widow it passed into the 
hands of her brother, Edward Livingston, Esq., the late 
minister to France, and up to the present moment has 



48 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



always received the most tasteful and judicious treat- 
ment. 

The lover of the expressive in nature, or the beautiful in 
art, will find here innumerable subjects for his study. 
The natural scenery in many portions approaches the cha- 
racter of grandeur, and the foreground of rich woods and 
lawns, stretching out on all sides of the mountain, completes 
a home landscape of dignified and elegant seclusion, rarely 
surpassed in any country. 

Among the fine features of this estate are the wilder- 
ness, a richly wooded and highly picturesque valley, filled 
with the richest growth of trees, and threaded with dark, 
intricate, and mazy w^alks, along which are placed a 

variety of rustic 
seats (Fig. 4). 
This valley is 
musical with the 
sound of water- 
falls, of which 
there are several 
fine ones in the 
bold impetuous 
stream which 
finds its course 
through the low- 

I [Fig. 4. One of the Rustic Seats at Montgomery Place.] ^^ part Ot the 

wilderness. Near the further end of the valley is a beauti- 
ful lake (Fig. 5), half of which lies cool and dark under the 
shadow of tall trees, while the other half gleams in the 
open sunlight. 

In a part of the lawn, near the house, yet so surrounded 
by a dark setting of trees and shrubs as to form a rich 




HISTORICAL NOTICES. 



49 



picture by itself, is one of the most perfect flower gardens 
in the country, laid out in the arabesque manner, and glow- 
ing with masses of the gayest colors — each bed being com- 
posed wholly of a single hue. A large conservatory, an 
exotic garden, an arboretum, etc., are among the features 
of interest in this admirable residence. Including a drive 
through a fine bit of natural wood, south of the mansion, 
there are five miles of highly varied and picturesque pri- 
vate roads and walks, through the pleasure-grounds of 
Montgomery Place. 




[Fig. 5. The Lake at Montgomery Place. J 

Ellerslie is the seat of William Kelly, Esq. It is three 
miles below Rhinebeck. It comprises over six hundred 
acres, and is one of our finest examples of high keeping 
and good management, both in an ornamental and an 
agricultural point of view. The house is conspicuously 
placed on a commanding natural terrace, with a fair fore- 
ground of park surface below it, studded with beautiful 
groups of elms and oaks, and a very fine reach of river and 



50 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

distant hills. This is one of the most celebrated places on 
the Hudson, and there are few that so well pay the lover 
of improved landscape for a visit. 

Just below Ellerslie are the fine mansion and pleasing 
grounds of Wm. Emmet, Esq., — the former a stone edifice, 
in the castellated style, and the latter forming a most 
agreeable point on the margin of the river. 

The seat of Gardiner Rowland, Esq., near New Ham- 
burgh, is not only beautiful in situation, but is laid out 
with great care, and is especially remarkable for the many 
rare trees and shrubs collected in its grounds. 

Wodenethe, near Fishkill landing, is the seat of H, W. 
Sargent, Esq., and is a bijou full of interest for the lover of 
rural beauty ; abounding in rare trees, shrubs, and plants, 
as well as vases, and objects of rural embellishment of all 
kinds. 

Kenwood (Fig. 6), the residence of J. Rathbone, Esq., is 
one mile south of Albany. Ten years ago this spot was a 
wild and densely wooded hill, almost inaccessible. With 
great taste and industry Mr. Rathbone has converted it 
into a country residence of much picturesque beauty, 
erected in the Tudor style, one of the best villas in the 
country, with a gate-lodge in the same mode, and laid out 
the grounds with remarkable skill and good taste. There 
are about 1200 acres in this estate, and pleasure grounds, 
forcing houses, and gardens, are now flourishing where all 
was so lately in the rudest state of nature ; while, by the 
judicious preservation of natural wood, the effect of a long 
cultivated demesne has been given to the whole. 

The Manor House of the " Patroon" (as the eldest son 
of the Van Rensselaer family is called) is in the northern 
suburbs of the city of Albany. The mansion, greatly 




Fig. 7. Beaverwyok, the. Seat; of Wm. P. Van Renssejaer, Esq. 




Fig 8. L'ottape Residence ot i / ni. K. A '5pin'A-Ml., Esq 



HISTORICAL NOTICES. 51 

enlarged and improved a few years since, from the designs 
of Upjohn, is one of the largest and most admirable in all 
respects, to be found in the country, and the pleasure- 
grounds in the rear of the house are tasteful and beau- 
tiful. 

Beaverwyck, a little north of Albany, on the opposite 
bank of the river, is the seat of Wm. P. Van Rensselaer, 
Esq. (Fig. 7.) The whole estate is ten or twelve miles 
square, including the village of Bath on the river shore, 
and a large farming district. The home residence em- 
braces several hundred acres, with a large level lawn, 
bordered by highly varied surface of hill and dale. The 
mansion, one of the first class, is newly erected from the 
plans of Mr. Diaper, and in its interior — its hall with 
mosaic floor of polished woods, its marble staircase, 
frescoed apartments, and spacious adjoining conservatory 
— is perhaps the most splendid in the Union. The grounds 
are yet newly laid out, but with much judgment ; and six 
or seven miles of winding gravelled roads and walks have 
been formed — their boundaries now leading over level 
meadows, and now winding through woody dells. The 
drives thus afforded, are almost unrivalled in extent and 
variety, and give the stranger or guest, an opportunity of 
seeing the near and distant views to the best advantage. 

At Tarrytown, is the cottage residence of Washington 
Irving, which is, in location and accessories, almost the 
beau ideal of a cottage ornee. The charming manner in 
which the wild foot-paths, in the neighborhood of this 
cottage, are conducted among the picturesque dells and 
banks, is precisely what one would look for here. A little 
below, Mr. Sheldon's cottage, with its pretty lawn and its 
charming brook, is one of the best specimens of this kind 



52 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

of residence on the river. At Hastings, four or five miles 
south, is the agreeable seat of Judge Constant. 

About twelve miles from New York, on the Sound, is 
Hunters Island, the seat of John Hunter, Esq., a place of 
much simplicity and dignity of character. The whole 
island may be considered an extensive park carpeted with 
soft lawn, and studded with noble trees. The mansion is 
simple in its exterior, but internally, is filled with rich 
treasures of art. The seat of James Munroe, Esq., on the 
East river in this neighborhood, abounds with beautiful 
trees, and many other features of interest. 

The Cottage residence of William H. Aspinwall, Esq., on 
Staten Island, is a highly picturesque specimen of Land- 
scape Gardening. The house is in the English cottage 
style, and from its open lawn in front, the eye takes in a 
wide view of the ocean, the Narrows, and the blue hills of 
Neversink. In the rear of the cottage, the surface is 
much broken and varied, and finely wooded and planted. 
In improving this picturesque site, a nice sense of the 
charm of natural expression has been evinced ; and the 
sudden variations from smooth open surface, to wild 
wooded banks, with rocky, moss-covered flights of steps, 
strike the stranger equally with surprise and delight. A 
charming greenhouse, a knotted flower-garden, and a 
pretty, rustic moss-house, are among the interesting points 
of this spirited place. (See Fig. 8.) 

The seat of the Wadsworth family, at Geneseo, is the 
finest in the interior of the state of New York. Nothing, 
indeed, can well be more magnificent than the meadow park 
at Geneseo. It is more than a thousand acres in extent, 
lying on each side of the Genesee river, and is filled with 
thousands of the noblest oaks and elms, many of which, but 




bS 



HISTORICAL NOTICES. 53 

more especially the oaks, are such trees as we see in the 
pictures of Claude, or our own Durand ; richly developed, 
their trunks and branches grand and majestic, their heads 
full of breadth and grandeur of outline. (See Fig. 9.) 
These oaks, distributed over a nearly level surface, with 
the trees disposed either singly or in the finest groups, as 
if most tastefully planted centuries ago, are solely the work 
of nature ; and yet so entirely is the whole like the 
grandest planted park, that it is difficult to believe that 
all is not the work of some master of art, and intended for 
the accompaniment of a magnificent residence. Some of 
the trees are five or six hundred years old. 

In Connecticut, Monte Video, the seat of Daniel Wads- 
worth, Esq., near Hartford, is worthy of commendation, as 
it evinces a good deal of beauty in its grounds, and is one 
of the most tasteful in the state. The residence of James 
Hillhouse, Esq., near New-Haven, is a pleasing specimen 
of the simplest kind of Landscape Gardening, where grace- 
ful forms of trees, and a gently sloping surface of grass, 
are the principal features. The villa of Mr. Whitney, 
near New-Haven, is one of the most tastefully managed in 
the state. In Maine, the most remarkable seat, as respects 
landscape gardening and architecture, is that of Mr. Gar- 
diner, of Gardiner. 

The environs of Boston are more highly cultivated than 
those of any other city in North America. There are here 
whole rural neighborhoods of pretty cottages and villas, ad- 
mirably cultivated, and, in many cases, tastefully laid out 
and planted. The character of even the finest of these 
places is, perhaps, somewhat suburban, as compared with 
those of the Hudson river, but we regard them as furnish- 



54 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

ing admirable hints for a class of residence likely to become 
more numerous than any other in this country — the taste- 
ful suburban cottage. The owner of a small cottage resi- 
dence may have almost every kind of beauty and enjoy- 
ment in his grounds that the largest estate will afford, so 
far as regards the interest of trees and plants, tasteful ar- 
rangement, recreation, and occupation. Indeed, we have 
little doubt that he, who directs personally the curve of 
every walk, selects and plants every shrub and tree, and 
watches with solicitude every evidence of beauty and pro- 
gress, succeeds in extracting from his tasteful grounds of 
half a dozen acres, a more intense degree of pleasure, than 
one who is only able to direct and enjoy, in a general 
sense, the arrangement of a vast estate. 

Belmont, the seat of J. P. Gushing, Esq., is a residence 
of more note than any other near Boston ; but this is, 
chiefly, on account of the extensive ranges of glass, the 
forced fruits, and the high culture of the gardens. A new 
and spacious mansion has recently been erected here, and 
the pleasure-grounds are agreeably varied with fine groups 
and masses of trees and shrubs on a pleasing lawn. 
(Fig. 10.) 

The seat of Col. Perkins, at Brookline, is one of the 
most interesting in this neighborhood. The very beautiful 
lawn here, abounds with exquisite trees, finely disposed ; 
among them, some larches and Norway firs, with many 
other rare trees of uncommon beauty of form. At a short 
distance is the villa residence of Theodore Lyman, Esq., 
remarkable for the unusually fine avenue of Elms leading 
to the house, and for the beautiful architectural taste dis- 
played in the dwelling itself The seat of the Hon. John 




rig. 10. Eelmont Place, near Boston, the Seat of J P Cushing, Es^i. 




Fig. 11. Mr. DuniV." Cottage, Mount Holly, N J 



HISTORICAL NOTICES. 55 

Lowell, at Roxbury, possesses also many interesting gar- 
dening features.* 

Pine Bank, the Perkins estate, on the border of 
Jamaica lake, is one of the most beautiful residences 
near Boston. The natural surface of the ground is ex- 
ceedingly flowing and graceful, and it is varied by two or 
three singular little dimples, or hollows, which add to its 
effect. The perfect order of the grounds ; the beauty of 
the walks, sometimes skirting the smooth open lawn, en- 
riched with rare plants and shrubs, and then winding by 
the shadowy banks of the water ; the soft and quiet cha- 
racter of the lake itself, — its margin richly fringed with 
trees, which conceal here and there a pretty cottage, its 
firm clean beach of gravel, and its water of crystal purity ; 
all these features make this place a little gem of natural 

* We Americans are proverbially impatient of delay, and a few years in 
prospect appear an endless futurity. So much is this the feeling with many, 
that we verily beUeve there are hundreds of our country places, which owe 
their bareness and destitution of foliage to the idea, so common, that it requires 
" an age" for forest trees to " grow up." 

The middle-aged man hesitates about the good of planting what he imagines 
he shall never see arriving at maturity, and even many who are younger, con- 
ceive that it requires more than an ordinary lifetime to rear a fine wood of 
planted trees. About two years since, we had the pleasure of visiting the seat 
of the late Mr. Lowell, whom we found in a green old age, still enjoying, with 
the enthusiasm of youth, the pleasures of Horticulture and a country life. For 
the encouragement of those who are ever complaining of the tardy pace with 
which the growth of trees advances, we will here record that we accompanied 
Mr. L. through a belt of fine woods (skirting part of his residence), nearly half 
a mile in length, consisting of almost all our finer hardy trees, many of them 
apparently full grown, the whole of which had been planted by him when he 
was thirty-two years old. At that time, a solitary elm or two were almost 
I lie only trees upon his estate. We can hardly conceive a more rational source 
of pride or enjoyment, than to be able thus to walk, in the decline of years, 
beneath the shadow of umbrageous woods and groves, planted by our own 
hands, and whose growth has become almost identified with our own pro- 
<;ress and existence. 



56 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

and artistical harmony, and beauty. Mr. Perkins has just 
rebuilt the house, in the style of a French maison de cam- 
pagne; and Pine Bank is now adorned with a most 
complete residence in the latest continental taste, from 
the designs of M. Lemoulnier. 

On the other side of the lake is the cottage of Thomas 
Lee, Esq. Enthusiastically fond of botany, and gardening 
in all its departments, Mr. Lee has here formed a residence 
of as much variety and interest as we ever saw in so 
moderate a compass — about 20 acres. It is, indeed, not 
only a most instructive place to the amateur of landscape 
gardening, but to the naturalist and lover of plants. Every 
shrub seems placed precisely in the soil and aspect it likes 
best, and native and foreign Rhododendrons, Kalmias, and 
other rare shrubs, are seen here in the finest condition. 
There is a great deal of variety in the surface here, and 
while the lawn-front of the house has a polished and 
gi-aceful air, one or two other portions are quite picturesque. 
Near the entrance gate is an English oak, only fourteen 
years planted, now forty feet high. 

The whole of this neighborhood of Brookline is a kind 
of landscape garden, and there is nothing in America, of 
the sort, so inexpressibly charming as the lapes which lead 
from one cottage, or villa, to another. No animals are 
allowed to run at large, and the open gates, with tempting 
vistas and glimpses under the pendent boughs, give it quite 
an Arcadian air of rural freedom and enjoyment. These 
lanes are clothed with a profusion of trees and wild shrub- 
bery, often almost to the carriage tracks, and curve and 
wind about, in a manner quite bewildering to the stranger 
who attempts to thread them alone ; and there are more 
hints here for the lover of the picturesque in lanes, than 




View in the Grounds at Pine Banir. 




View in the ftronnds of James Arnold, Esq. 
60 



HISTORICAL NOTICES, 57 

we ever saw assembled together in so small a com- 
pass. 

In the environs of New Bedford are many beautiful resi- 
dences. Among these, we desire particularly to notice the 
residence of James Arnold, Esq. There is scarcely a small 
place in New England, where thfe pleasure-grounds are so 
full of variety, and in such perfect order and keeping, as at 
this charming spot ; and its winding walks, open bits of 
lawn, shrubs and plants grouped on turf, shady bowers, 
and rustic seats, all most agreeably combined, render this 
a very interesting and instructive suburban seat. 

In New Jersey, the grounds of the Count de Survilliers, 
at Bordentown, are very extensive ; and although the sur- 
face is mostly flat, it has been well varied by extensive 
plantations. At Mount Holly, about twenty miles from 
Camden, is Mr. Dunn's unique, semi-oriental cottage, with 
a considerable extent of pleasure ground, newly planted, 
after the designs of Mr. Notman. (Fig. 11.) 

About Philadelphia there are several very interesting 
seats on the banks of the Delaware and Schuylkill, and 
the district between these two rivers. 

The country seat of George Sheaff, Esq., one of the most 
remarkable in Pennsylvania, in many respects, is twelve 
miles north of Philadelphia. The house is a large and re- 
spectable mansion of stone, surrounded by pleasure-grounds 
and plantations of fine evergreen and deciduous trees. The 
conspicuous ornament of the grounds, however, is a mag- 
nificent white oak, of enormous size, whose wide stretching 
branches, and grand head, gave an air of dignity to the 
whole place. (Fig. 12.) Among the sylvan features here, 
most interesting, are also the handsome evergreens, chiefly 
Balsam or Balm of Gilead firs, some of which are now 



58 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

much higher than the mansion. These trees were planted 
by Mr. Sheaff twenty-two years ago, and were then so 
small, that they were brought by him from Philadelphia, 
at various times, in his carriage — a circumstance highly 
encouraging to despairing planters, when we reflect how 
comparatively slow growing is this tree. This whole es- 
tate is a striking example of science, skill, and taste, 
applied to a country seat, and there are few in the Union, 
taken as a whole, superior to it.* 

Cottage residence of Mrs. Camac. This is one of the 
most agreeable places within a few miles of Philadelphia. 
The house is a picturesque cottage, in the rural gothic 
style, with very charming and appropriate pleasure grounds, 
comprising many groups and masses of large and finely 
grown trees, interspersed with a handsome collection of 
shrubs and plants ; the whole very tastefully arranged. 
(Fig. 13.) The lawn is prettily varied in surface, and 
there is a conservatory attached to the house, in which the 
plants in pots are hidden in beds of soft green moss, and 
which, in its whole eflfect and management, is more tasteful 
and elegant than any plant house, connected with a dwell- 
ing, that we remember to have seen. 

* The farm is 300 acres in extent, and, in the time of De Vv^'itt Clinton, was 
pronounced by him the model farm of the United States. At the present time 
we know nothing superior to it; and Capt. Barclay, in his agricultural tour, says 
it was the only instance of regular, scientific system of husbandly in the Eng- 
lish manner, he saw in America. Indeed, the large and regular fields, filled 
with luxuriant crops, everywhere of an exact evenness of growth, and every- 
where free from weeds of any sort ; the perfect system of manuring and cul- 
ture ; the simple and complete fences ; the fine stock ; the very spacious barns, 
every season newly whitewashed internally and externally, paved with wood, 
and as clean as a gentleman's stable (with stalls to fatten 90 head of cattle) ; 
these, and the masterly way in which the whole is managed, both as regnrds 
culture and profit, render this estate one of no common interest in an agricul- 
tural, as well as ornamental point of view. 




■Fia. IS. The Seat of George Slieaff. E^q. 




Fig. 13- Mrs. Camac's Residence. 



HISTORICAL NOTICES. 59^ 

Stanton, near Germantown, four miles from Philadelphia, 
is a fine old place, with many picturesque features. The 
farm consists of 700 acres, almost without division fences — 
admirably managed — and remarkable for its grand old 
avenue of the hemlock spruce, 110 years old, leading to a 
family cemetery of much sylvan beauty. There is a large 
and excellent old mansion, with paved halls, built in 1731, 
which is preserved in its original condition. This place 
was the seat of the celebrated Logan, the friend of William 
Penn, and is now owned by his descendant, Albanus Logan. 

The villa residence of Alexander Brown, Esq., is situated 
on the Delaware, a few miles from Philadelphia. There 
is here a good deal of beauty, in the natural style, made up 
chiefly by lawn and forest trees. A pleasing drive through 
plantations of 25 years' growth, is one of the most interest- 
ing features — and there is much elegance and high keeping 
in the grounds. 

Below Philadelphia, the lover of beautiful places will 
find a good deal to admire in the country seat of John R. 
Latimer, Esq., near Wilmington, which enjoys the reputa- 
tion of being the finest in Delaware. The place has all 
the advantages of high keeping, richly stocked gardens and 
conservatories, and much natural beauty, heightened by 
judicious planting, arrangement, and culture. 

At the south are many extensive country residences re- 
markable for trees of unusual grandeur and beauty, among 
which the live oak is very conspicuous ; but they are, in 
general, wanting in that high keeping and care, which is 
so essential to the charm of a landscape garden. 

Of smaller villa residences, suburban chiefly, there are 
great numbers, springing up almost by magic, in the bor- 
ders of our towns and cities. Though the possessors of 



60 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

these can scarcely hope to introduce anything approaching 
to a landscape garden style, in laying out their limited 
grounds, still they may be greatly benefited by an ac- 
quaintance with the beauties and the pleasures of this 
species of rural embellishment. When we are once master 
of the principles, and aware of the capabilities of an art, 
we are able to infuse an expression of tasteful design, or 
an air of more correct elegance, even into the most humble 
works, and with very limited means. 

While we shall endeavor, in the following pages, to give 
such a view of modern Landscape Gardening, as will enable 
the improver to proceed with his fascinating operations, in 
embellishing the country residence, in a practical mode, 
based upon what are now generally received as the correct 
principles of the art, we would desire the novice, after 
making himself acquainted with all that can be acquired 
from written works within his reach, to strengthen his taste 
and add to his knowledge, by a practical inspection of the 
best country seats among us. In an infant state of society, 
in regard to the fine arts, much will be done in violation of 
good taste ; but here, where nature has done so much for 
us, there is scarcely a large country residence in the Union, 
from which useful hints in Landscape Gardening may not 
be taken. And in nature, a group of trees, an accidental 
pond of water, or some equally simple object, may form a 
study more convincing to the mind of a true admirer of 
natural beauty, than the most carefully drawn plan, or the 
most elaborately written description. 



BEAUTIES AND PRINCIPLES OF THK ART. 61 



SECTION IL 

BEAUTIES AND PRINCIPLES OP THE ART. 

Capacities of the art. The beanties of the ancient st>ie. The ino<lern style. The Beauti- 
ful and the Picturesque : their distinctive characteristics. Illustrations drawn from 
Nature and Paintinj;. Nature and principles of Landsc:ipe Gardenine; as an Imitative 
art. Distinction between the Beautiftil and Picturesque. The principles of Unity, 
Haimony, and Variety. 

" Here Nature in her unaffected dresse. 
Plaited with vallies and iinhost with hills, 
Enchast with silver streams, and fringed with woods, 
Sits lovely." — 

Chamberlayne. 

" H est des soins plus doux, un art plus enchanteur. 
C'est peu de charmer Pceil, il faut parler au coeur. 
Avez-vous done connu ces rapports invisibles, 
Des corps inanimes et des ctres sensibles ? 
Avez-vous entendu des eaux, des pres, des bois. 
La muette eloquence et la secrete voix ? 
Rendez-nous ces effets." Les Jardins, Book I. 

E F O R E we proceed to a detailed and 
more practical consideration of the subject, 
let us occupy ourselves for a moment with 
the consideration of the different results 
which are to be sought after, or, in other 
-i?«?K.- vv^ords, what kinds of beauty we may hope to 
produce by Landscape Gardening. To attempt the smallest 
work in any art, without knowing either the capacities of 




62 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

that art, or the schools, or modes, by which it has previous- 
ly been characterized, is but to be groping about in a dim 
twilight, without the power of knowing, even should we be 
successful in our efforts, the real excellence of our produc- 
tion ; or of judging its merit, comparatively, as a work of 
taste and imagination. 




[Fig. 14. The Geometric style, from nn old print.] 

The beauties elicited by the ancient style of gardening 
were those of regularity, symmetry, and the display of 
labored art. These were attained in a merely mechanical 
manner, and usually involved little or no theory. The 
geometrical form and lines of the buildings were only ex- 
tended and carried out in the garden. In the best classical 
models, the art of the sculptor conferred dignity and ele- 
gance on the garden, by the fine forms of marble vases and 
statues ; in the more intricate and labored specimens of the 



BEAUTIES AND PRINCIPLES OF THE ART. 63 

Dutch school, prevalent in England in the time of William 
IV. (Fig. 14), the results evince a fertility of odd conceits, 
rather than the exercise of taste or imagination. Indeed, 
as, to level ground naturally uneven, or to make an avenue, 
by planting rows of trees on each side of a broad walk, 
requires only the simplest perception of the beauty of ma- 
thematical forms, so, to lay out a garden in the geometric 
style, became little more than a formal routine, and it was 
only after the superior interest of a more natural manner 
was enforced by men of genius, that natural beauty of 
expression was recognised, and Landscape Gardening was 
raised to the rank of a fine art. 

The ancient style of gardening may, however, be intro- 
duced with good effect in certain cases. In public squares 
and gardens, where display, grandeur of effect, and a highly 
artificial character are desirable, it appears to us the most 
suitable ; and no less so in very small gardens, in which 
variety and irregularity are out of the question. Where a 
taste for imitating an old and quaint style of residence 
exists, the symmetrical and knotted garden would be a 
proper accompaniment ; and pleached alleys, and sheared 
trees, would be admired, like old armor or furniture, as 
curious specimens of antique taste and custom. 

The earliest professors of modern Landscape Gardening 
have generally agreed upon two variations, of which the 
art is capable — variations no less certainly distinct, on the 
one hand, than they are capable of intermingling and com- 
bining, on the other. These are the beautiful and the pic- 
turesque : or, to speak more definitely, the beauty charac- 
terized by simple and flowing forms, and that expressed by 
striking, irregular, spirited forms. 

The admirer of nature, as well as the lover of pictures 



64 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

and engravings, will at once call to mind examples of 
scenery distinctly expressive of each of these kinds of 
beauty. In nature, perhaps some gently undulating plain, 
covered v^^ith emerald turf, partially or entirely encompassed 
by rich, rolling outlines of forest canopy, — its v^^ildest ex- 
panse here broken occasionally, by noble groups of round- 
headed trees, or there interspersed with single specimens 
whose trunks support heads of foliage flowing in outline, 
or drooping in masses to the very turf beneath them. In 
such a scene we often behold the azure of heaven, and its 
silvery clouds, as well as the deep verdure of the luxuriant 
and shadowy branches, reflected in the placid bosom of a 
silvan lake ; the shores of the latter swelling out, and reced- 
ing, in gentle curved lines ; the banks, sometimes covered 
with soft turf sprinkled with flowers, and in other portions 
clothed with luxuriant masses of verdant shrubs. Here are 
all the elements of what is termed natural beauty, — or a 
landscape characterized by simple, easy, and flowing lines. 
For an example of the opposite character, let us take a 
stroll to the nearest woody glen in your neighborhood — 
perhaps a romantic valley, half shut in on two or more 
sides by steep rocky banks, partially concealed and over- 
hung by clustering vines, and tangled thickets of deep 
foliage. Against the sky outline breaks the wild and irre- 
gular form of some old, half decayed tree near by, or the 
horizontal and unique branches of the larch or the pine, 
with their strongly marked forms. Rough and irregular 
stems and trunks, rocks half covered with mosses and 
flowering plants, open glades of bright verdure opposed to 
dark masses of bold shadowy foliage, form prominent ob- 
jects in the foreground. If water enlivens the scene, we 
shall hear the murmur of the noisy brook, or the cool dash- 



BEAUTIES AND PRINCIPLES OF THE ART. 65 

ing of the cascade, as it leaps over the rocky barrier. Let 
the stream turn the ancient and well-worn wheel of the old 
mill in the middle ground, and we shall have an illustration 
of the picturesque, not the less striking from its f^miiliarity 
to every one. 

To the lover of the fine arts, the name of Claude Lor- 
raine cannot fail to suggest examples of beauty in some of 
its jiurest and most simple forms. In the best pictures of 
this master, we see portrayed those graceful and flowing 
forms in trees, foreground, and buildings, which delight so 
much the lover of noble and chaste beauty, — compositions 
emanating from a harmonious soul, and inspired by a cli- 
mate and a richness of nature and art seldom surpassed. 

On the other hand, where shall we find all the elements 
of the picturesque more graphically combined than in the 
vigorous landscapes of Salvator Rosa ! In those rugged 
scenes, even the lawless aspects of his favorite robbers and 
banditti are not more spirited, than the bold rocks and wild 
passes by which they are surrounded. And in the produc- 
tions of his pencil we see the influence of a romantic and 
vigorous imagination, nursed amid scenes teeming with 
the grand as well as the picturesque — both of which he 
embodied in the most striking manner. 

In giving these illustrations of beautiful and of pictu- 
resque scenes, we have not intended them to be understood 
in the light of exact models for imitation in Landscape 
Gardening — only as striking examples of expression in 
natural scenery. Although in nature many landscapes 
parlake in a certain degree of both these kinds of expression, 
yet it is no doubt true that the effect is more satisfactory, 
where either the one or the other character predominates. 
The accomplished amateur should be able to seize at once 



66 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

upon the characteristics of these two species of beauty in 
all scenery. To assist the reader in this kind of discrimi- 
nation, we shall keep these expressions constantly in view, 
and we hope we shall be able fully to illustrate the differ- 
ence in the expression of even single trees, in this respect. 
A few strongly marked objects, either picturesque or simply 
beautiful, will often confer their character upon a whole 
landscape ; as the destruction of a single group of bold 
rocks, covered with wood, may render a scene, once pictu- 
resque, completely insipid. 

The early writers on the modern style were content with 
trees allowed to grow in their natural forms, and with an 
easy assemblage of sylvan scenery in the pleasure-grounds, 
which resembled the usual woodland features of nature. 
The effect of this method will always be interesting, and an 
agreeable effect will always be the result of following the 
simplest hints derived from the free and luxuriant forms of 
nature. No residence in the country can fail to be pleasing, 
whose features are natural groups of forest trees, smooth 
lawn, and hard gravel walks. 

But this is scarcely Landscape Gardening in the true 
sense of the word, although apparently so understood by 
many writers. By Landscape Gardening, we understand 
not only an imitation, in the grounds of a country residence, 
of the agreeable forms of nature, but an expressive, harmo- 
nious, and refined imitation* In Landscape Gardening, 

* " Thus, there is a beauty of nature and a beauty of art. To copy the 
beauty of nature cannot be called being an artist in the highest sense of the 
word, as a mechanical talent only is requisite for this. The beautiful in art 
depends on ideas ; and the trae artist, therefore, must possess, together with the 
talent for technical execution, that genial power which revels freely in rich 
forms, and is capable of producing and animating them. It is by this, that the 
merit of the artist and his production is to be judged : and these cannot be 



BEAUTIES AND PRINCIPLES OF THE ART. 67 

we should aim to separate the accidental and extraneous 
in nature, and to preserve only the spirit, or essence. This 
subtle essence lies, we believe, in the expression more or 
less pervading every attractive portion of nature. And it 
is by eliciting, preserving, or heightening this expression, 
that we may give our landscape gardens a higher charm, 
than even the polish of art can bestow. 

Now, the two most forcible and complete expressions to 
be found in that kind of natural scenery which may be 
reproduced in Landscape Gardening, are the Beautiful 
and the Picturesque. As we look upon these as quite 
distinct, and as success in practical embellishment must 
depend on our feeling and understanding these expressions 
beforehand, it is necessary that we should attach some 
definite meaning to terms which we shall be continually 
obliged to employ. This is, indeed, the more requisite, from 
the vague and conflicting opinions of most preceding writers 
on this branch of the subject ; some, like Repton, insisting 
that they are identical ; and others, like Price, that they 
are widely different. 

Gilpin defines Picturesque objects to be " those which 
please from some quality capable of being illustrated in 
painting." 

Nothing can well be more vague than such a definition. 
We have already described the difference between the 
beautiful landscapes of Claude and the picturesque scenes 
painted by Salvator. No one can deny their being essen- 

properly estimated among those barren copyists which we find so many of our 
flower, landscape, and portrait painters to be. But the artist stands much 
higher in the scale, who, though a copyist of visible nature, is capable of seiz- 
ing it with poetic feeling, and representing it in its more dignified sense ; such, 
for example, as Raphael, Poussin, Claude, &c." — Weinbreu.n'er. 



68 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

tially distinct in character ; and no one, we imagine, will 
deny that they both please from " some quality capable of 
being illustrated in painting." The beautiful female heads 
of Carlo Dolce are widely different from those of the pictu- 
resque peasant girls of Gerard Douw, yet both are favorite 
subjects with artists. A symmetrical American elm, with 
its wide head drooping with garlands of graceful foliage, is 
very different in expression from the wild and twisted larch 
or pine tree, which we find on the steep sides of a moun- 
tain ; yet both are favorite subjects with the painter. It is 
clear, indeed, that there is a widely different idea hidden 
under these two distinct types, in material forms. 

Beauty, in all natural objects, as we conceive, arises 
from their expression of those attributes of the Creator — 
infinity, unity, symmetry, proportion, etc. — which he has 
stamped more or less visibly on all his works ; and a beau- 
tiful living form is one in which the individual is a harmo- 
nious and well balanced development of a fine type. Thus, 
taking the most perfect specimens of beauty in the human 
figure, we see in them symmetry, proportion, unity, 
and grace — the presence of everything that could add 
to the idea of perfected existence. In a beautiful tree, 
such as a fine American elm, we see also the most complete 
and perfect balance of all its parts, resulting from its 
growth under the most favorable influences. It realizes, 
then, perfectly, the finest form of a fine type or species of 
tree. 

But all nature is not equally Beautiful. Both in living 
things and in inorganized matter, we see on all sides evi- 
dences of nature struggling with opposing forces. Moun- 
tains are upheaved by convulsions, valleys are broken into 
fearful chasms. Certain forms of animal and vegetable life. 



BEAUTIES AND PRINCIPLES OF THE ART. 69 

instead of manifesting themselves in those more complete 
and perfect forms of existence where the matter and spirit 
are almost in perfect harmony, appear to struggle for the 
full expression of their character with the material form, 
and to express it only with difficulty at last. What is 
achieved with harmony, grace, dignity, almost with appa- 
rent repose, by existences whose type is the Beautiful, is 
done only with violence and disturbed action by the former. 
This kind of manifestation in nature we call the Pictures- 
que. 

More concisely, the Beautiful is nature or art obeying 
the universal laws of perfect existence (i. e. Beauty), 
easily, freely, harmoniously, and without the display of 
power. The Picturesque is nature or art obeying the same 
laws rudely, violently, irregularly, and often displaying 
power only. 

Hence we find all Beautiful forms characterized by curved 
and flowing lines-;-lines expressive of infinity,* of grace, 
and willing obedience : and all Picturesque forms character- 
ized by irregular and broken lines — lines expressive of vio- 
lence, abrupt action, and partial disobedience, a strug- 
gling of the idea with the substance or the condition of its 
being. The Beautiful is an idea of beauty calmly and har- 
moniously expressed ; the Picturesque an idea of beauty or 
power strongly and irregularly expressed. As an example 
of the Beautiful in other arts we refer to the Apollo of the 
Vatican ; as an example of the Picturesque, to the Laocoon 
or the Dying Gladiator. In nature we would place before 

* Hogarth called the curve the line of beauty, and all artists have felt instinct- 
ively its power, but Mr. Ruskin (in Modern Painters) was, we believe, the 
first to suggest the cause of that power — that it expresses in its varying ten- 
dencies, the infinite. 



70 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

the reader a finely formed elm or chestnut, whose well 
balanced head is supported on a trunk full of symmetry and 
dignity, and whose branches almost sweep the turf in their 
rich luxuriance ; as a picturesque contrast, some pine or 
larch, whose gnarled roots grasp the rocky crag on which it 
grows, and whose wild and irregular branches tell of the 
storm and tempest that it has so often struggled against.* 

In pictures, too, one often hears the Beautiful confounded 
with the Picturesque. Yet they are quite distinct ; though 
in many subjects they may be found harmoniously com- 
bined. Some of Raphael's angels may be taken as perfect 
illustrations of the Beautiful. In their serene and heavenly 
countenances we see only that calm and pure existence of 
which perfect beauty is the outward type ; on the other hand, 
Murillo's beggar boys are only picturesque. What we ad- 
mire in them (beyond admirable execution) is not their rags 
or their mean apparel, but a certain irregular struggling 
of a better feeling within, against this outward poverty of 
nature and condition. 

Architecture borrows, partly perhaps by association, the 
same expression. We find the Beautiful in the most sym- 
metrical edifices, built in the finest proportions, and of the 
purest materials. It is, on the other hand, in some irregu- 
lar castle formed for defence, some rude mill nearly as wild as 
the glen where it is placed, some thatched cottage, weather 
stained and moss covered, that we find the Picturesque. 
The Temple of Jupiter Olympus in all its perfect proportions 

* This also explains why trees, though they retain for the most part their 
characteristic fornis, vary somewhat in expression according to their situation. 
Thus the larch, though always picturesque, is far more so in mountain ridges 
•where it is exposed to every blast, than in sheltered lawns where it only finds 
soft airs and sunshine. 



BEAUTIES AND PRINCIPLES OF THE ART. 71 

was prized by the Greeks as a model of beauty ; we, who 
see only a few columns and broken architraves standing, 
with all their exquisite mouldings obliterated by the vio- 
lence of time and the elements, find them Picturesque. 

To return to a more practical view of the subject, 
we may remark, that though we consider the Beautiful and 
the Picturesque quite distinct, yet it by no means follows 
that they may not be combined in the same landscape. 
This is often seen in nature ; and indeed there are few 
landscapes of large extent where they are not thus harmo- 
niously combined. 

But it must be remembered, that while Landscape Gar- 
dening is an imitation of nature, yet it is rarely attempted 
on so large a scale as to be capable of the same extended 
harmony and variety of expression ; and also, that in Land- 
scape Gardening as in the other fine arts, we shall be more 
successful by directing our efforts towards the production 
of a leading character or expression, than by endeavor- 
ing to join and harmonize several. 

Our own views on this subject are simply these. When 
a place is small, and only permits a single phase of natural 
expression, always endeavor to heighten or to make that 
single expression predominate ; it should clearly either aim 
only at the Beautiful or the Picturesque. 

When, on the contrary, an estate of large size comes 
within the scope of the Landscape Gardener, he is at liberty 
to give to each separate scene its most fitting character ; 
he will thus, if he is a skilful artist, be able to create great 
variety both of beautiful and picturesque expression, and 
he will also be able to give a higher proof of his power, viz. 
by uniting all those scenes into one whole, by bringing 
them all into harmony. An artist who can do this has 
reached the ultimatum of his art. 



72 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

Again and again has it been said, that Landscape Gar- 
dening and Painting are aUied. In no one point does it ap- 
pear to us that they are so, more than in this — that in pro- 
portion to the Hmited nature of the subject should sirapH- 
city and unity of expression be remembered. In some of 
the finest smaller compositions of Raphael, or some of the 
Landscapes of Claude, so fully is this borne in mind, that 
every object, however small, seems to be instinct with the 
same expression ; while in many of the great historical 
pictures, unity and harmony are wrought out of the most 
complex variety of expression. 

We must not be supposed to find in nature only the 
Beautiful and the Picturesque. Grandeur and Sublimity 
are also expressions strongly marked in many of the noblest 
portions of natural landscape. But, except in very rare 
instances, they are wholly beyond the powers of the land- 
scape gardener, at least in the comparatively limited scale 
of his operations in this country. All that he has to do, is 
to respect them where they exist in natural landscape which 
forms part of his work of art, and so treat the latter, as 
to make it accord with, or at least not violate, the higher 
and predominant expression of the whole. 

There are, however, certain subordinate expressions 
which may be considered as qualities of the Beautiful, and 
which jnay originally so prevail in natural landscape, or be 
so elicited or created by art, as to give a distinct character 
to a small country residence, or portions of a large one. 
These are simplicity, dignity, grace, elegance, gaiety, 
chasteness, &c. It is not necessary that we should go 
into a labored explanation of these expressions. They are 
more or less familiar to all. A few fine trees, scattered 
and grouped over any surface of smooth lawn, will give a 




Fig. 15 Example of the beautiful in Landscape Gardening. 




Fig. 16. Example of the Picturesque in Landscape Gardening 



273 



BEAUTIES AND PRINCIPLES OF THE ART. 73 

character of simple beauty ; lofty trees of great a.<^e, 
hills covered with rich wood, an elevation commanding a 
wide country, stamp a site with dignity ; trees of full and 
OTaceful habit or a;entlv curvins; forms in the lawn, walks, 
and all other objects, will convey the idea of grace ; as 
finely formed and somewhat tall trees of rare species, or a 
great abundance of bright climbers and gay flowering shrubs 
and plants, will confer characters of elegance and gaiety. 

He who would create in his pleasure grounds these more 
delicate shades of expression, must become a profound stu- 
dent both of nature and art ; he must be able, by his 
own original powers, to seize the subtle essence, the half 
disclosed idea involved in the finest parts of nature, and to 
reproduce and develope it in his Landscape Garden. 

Leaving such, however, to a broader range of study than 
a volume like this would afford, we may offer what, per- 
haps, will not be unacceptable to the novice — a more de- 
tailed sketch of the distinctive features of the Beautiful and 
the Picturesque, as these expressions should be embodied 
in Landscape Gardening. 

The Beautiful in Landscape Gardening (Fig. 15) is 
produced by outlines whose curves are flowing and gradual, 
surfaces of softness, and growth of richness and luxuriance. 
In the shape of the ground, it is evinced by easy undulations 
melting gradually into each other. In the form of trees, by 
smooth stems, full, round, or symmetrical heads of foliage, 
and luxuriant branches often drooping to the ground, — which 
is chiefly attained by planting and grouping, to allow free 
development of form ; and by selecting trees of suitable cha- 
racter, as the elm, the ash, and the like. In walks and 
roads, by easy flowing curves, following natural shapes of 
the surface, with no sharp angles or abrupt turns. In water, 



74 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

by the smooth lake with curved margin, embellished with 
flowing outlines of trees, and full masses of flowering 
shrubs — or in the easy winding curves of a brook. The 
keeping of such a scene should be of the most polished 
kind, — grass mown into a softness like velvet, gravel walks 
scrupulously firm, dry, and clean ; and the most perfect 
order and neatness should reign throughout. Among the 
trees and shrubs should be conspicuous the finest foreign 
sorts, distinguished by beauty of form, foliage, and blossom; 
and rich groups of shrubs and flowering plants should be 
arranged in the more dressed portions near the house. 
And finally, considering the house itself as a feature in the 
scene, it should properly belong to one of the classical 
modes ; and the Italian, Tuscan, or Venetian forms are 
preferable, because these have both a polished and a 
domestic air, and readily admit of the graceful accom- 
paniments of vases, urns, and other harmonious 
accessories. Or, if we are to have a plainer dwelling, 
it should be simple and symmetrical in its character, and 
its veranda festooned with masses of the finest climbers. 

The PicTUKEsauE in Landscape Gardening (Fig. 16) 
aims at the production of outlines of a certain spirited 
irregularity, surfaces comparatively abrupt and broken, 
and growth of a somewhat wild and bold character. The 
shape .of the ground sought after, has its occasional 
smoothness varied by sudden variations, and in parts runs 
into dingles, rocky groups, and broken banks. The trees 
should in many places be old and irregular, with rough 
stems and bark ; and pines, larches, and other trees of 
striking, irregular growth, must appear in numbers sufficient 
to give character to the woody outlines. As, to produce 
the Beautiful, the trees are planted singly in open groups 



BEAUTIES AND PRINCIPLES OF THE ART. 75 

to allow full expansion, so for the Picturesque, the grouping 
takes every variety of form ; almost every object should 
group with another ; trees and shrubs are often planted 
closely together ; and intricacy and variety — thickets — 
glades — and underwood — as in wild nature, are indispensa- 
ble. Walks and roads are more abrupt in their windings, 
turning off frequently at sudden angles where the form of 
the ground or some inviting object directs. In water, all 
the wildness of romantic spots in nature is to be imitated 
or preserved ; and the lake or stream with bold shore and 
rocky, wood-fringed margin, or the cascade in the secluded 
dell, are the characteristic forms. The keeping of such a 
landscape will of course be less careful than in the 
graceful school. Firm gravel walks near the house, and 
a general air of neatness in that quarter, are indispensable 
to the fitness of the scene in all modes, and indeed properly 
evince the recognition of art in all Landscape Gardening. 
But the lawn may be less frequently mown, the edges of 
the walks less carefully trimmed, where the Picturesque 
prevails ; while in portions more removed from the house, 
the walks may sometimes sink into a mere footpath 
without gravel, and the lawn change into the forest glade 
or meadow. The architecture which belongs to the 
picturesque landscape, is the Gothic mansion, the old 
English or the Swiss cottage, or some other striking 
forms, with bold projections, deep shadows, and irregular 
outlines. Rustic baskets, and similar ornaments, may 
abound near the house, and in the more frequented parts 
of the place. 

The recognition of art, as Loudon justly observes, is a 
first principle in Landscape Gardening, as in all other arts ; 
and those of its professors have erred, who supposed that 



76 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

the object of this art is merely to produce a fac-simile of 
nature, that could not be distinguished from a wild scene. 
But we contend that this principle may be fully attained 
with either expression — the picturesque cottage being as 
well a work of art as the classic villa ; its baskets, and 
seats of rustic work, indicating the hand of man as well 
as the marble vase and balustrade ; and a walk, sometimes 
narrow and crooked, is as certainly recognised as man's 
work, as one always regular and flowing. Foreign trees 
of picturesque growth are as readily obtained as those of 
beautiful forms. The recognition of art is, therefore, 
always apparent in both modes. The evidences are 
indeed stronger and more multiplied in the careful polish 
of the Beautiful landscape,* and hence many prefer this 
species of landscape, not, as it deserves to be preferred, 
because it displays the most beautiful and perfect ideas in 
its outlines, the forms of its trees, and all that enters into 
its composition, but chiefly because it also is marked by 
that careful polish, and that completeness, which imply 
the expenditure of money, which they so well know how 
to value. 

If we declare that the Beautiful is the more perfect 
expression in landscape, we shall be called upon to explain 
why the Picturesque is so much more attractive to many 
minds. This, we conceive, is owing partly to the imper- 

* The beau ideal in Landscape Gardening, as a fine art, appears to us to be 
embraced in the creation of scenery full of expression, as the beautiful or pic- 
turesque, the materials of which are, to a certain extent, different from those in 
wild nature, being composed of the floral and arboricultural riches of all climates, 
as far as possible ; uniting in the same scene, a richness and a variety never to 
be found in any one portion of nature ; — a scene characterized as a work of art, 
by the variety of the materials, as foreign trees, plants, &.C., and by the polish 
and keeping of the grounds in the natural style, as distinctly as by the uniform 
and symmetrical arrangement in the ancient style. 



BEAUTIES AND PRIVCIPLES OF THE ART. 77 

fection of our natures by which most of us sympathize 
more with that in which the struggle between spirit and 
matter is most apparent, than with that in which the 
union is iiarmonious and complete ; and partly because 
from the comparative rarity of highly picturesque land- 
scape, it affects us more forcibly when brought into 
contrast with our daily life. Artists, we imagine, find 
somewhat of the same pleasure in studying wild land- 
scape, where the very rocks and trees seem to struggle 
with the elements for foothold, that they do in contem- 
plating the phases of the passions and instincts of 
human and animal life. The manifestation of power is 
to many minds far more captivating than that of beauty. 

All who enjoy the charms of Landscape Gardening, 
may perhaps be divided into three classes : those who have 
arrived only at certain primitive ideas of beauty which 
are found in regular forms and straight lines ; those who 
in the Beautiful seek for the highest and most perfect 
development of the idea in the material form ; 
and those who in the Picturesque enjoy most a certain 
wild and incomplete harmony between the idea and the 
forms in which it is expressed. 

As the two latter classes embrace the whole range 
of modern Landscape Gardening, we shall keep distinctly 
in view their two governing principles — the Beautiful and 
the Picturesque, in treating of the practice of the art. 

There are always circumstances which must exert a 
controlling influence over amateurs, in this country, in 
choosing between the two. These are, fixed locality, ex- 
pense, individual preference in the style of building, and 
many others which readily occur to all. The great variety 
of attractive sites in the older parts of the country, afford an 



78 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

abundance of opportunity for either taste. Within the last 
five years, we think the Picturesque is beginning to be pre- 
ferred. It has, when a suitable locality offers, great advan- 
tages for us. The raw materials of wood, water, and sur- 
face, by the margin of many of our rivers and brooks, are 
at once appropriated with so much effect, and so little art, 
in the picturesque mode ; the annual tax on the purse too 
is so comparatively little, and the charm so great ! 

While, on one hand, the residences of a country of level 
plains usually allow only the beauty of simple and grace- 
ful forms ; the larger demesne, with its swelling hills and 
noble masses of wood (may we not, prospectively, say the 
rolling prairie too ?), should always, in the hands of the 
man of wealth, be made to display all the breadth, va- 
riety, and harmony of both the Beautiful and the Pictu- 
resque. 

There is no surface of ground, however bare, which has 
not, naturally, more or less tendency to one or the other of 
these expressions. And the improver who detects the true 
character, and plants, builds, and embellishes, as he should, 
constantly aiming to elicit and strengthen it — will soon 
arrive at a far higher and more satisfactory result, than one 
who, in the common manner, works at random. The latter 
may succeed in producing pleasing grounds — he will un- 
doubtedly add to the general beauty and tasteful appearance 
of the country, and we gladly accord him our thanks. But 
the improver who unites with pleasing forms an expres- 
sion of sentiment, will affect not only the common eye, but 
much more powerfully, the imagination, and the refined 
and delicate taste. 

But there are many persons with small cottage places, 
of little decided character, who have neither room, time, 



BEAUTIES AND PRINCIPLES OF THE ART. 79 

nof income, to attempt the improvement of their grounds 
fully, after either of those two schools. How shall they 
render their places tasteful and agreeable, in the easiest 
manner ? We answer, hy attempting only the simple and 
the natural ; and the unfailing way to secure this, is by 
employing as leading features only trees and grass. A 
soft verdant lawn, a few forest or ornamental trees 
well grouped, walks, and a few flowers, give universal 
pleasure ; they contain in themselves, in fact, the basis of 
all our agreeable sensations in a landscape garden (na- 
tural beauty, and the recognition of art) ; and they are 
the most enduring sources of enjoyment in any place. 
There are no country seats in the United States so unsa- 
tisfactory and tasteless, as those in which, without any 
definite aim, everything is attempted ; and a mixed jumble 
of discordant forms, materials, ornaments, and decorations, 
is assembled — a part in one style and a bit in another, 
without the least feeling of unity or congruity. These 
rural bedlams, full of all kinds of absurdities, without a 
leading character or expression of any sort, cost their 
owners a vast deal of trouble and money, without giving a 
tasteful mind a shadow of the beauty which it feels at the 
first glimpse of a neat cottage residence, with its simple, 
sylvan character of well kept lawn and trees. If the latter 
does not rank high in the scale of Landscape Gardening 
as an art, it embodies much of its essence as a source of 
enjoyment — the production of the Beautiful in country 
residences. 

Besides the beauties of form and expression in the differ- 
ent modes of laying out grounds, there are certain univer- 
sal and inherent beauties common to all styles, and, indeed, 
to every composition in the fine arts. Of these, we shall 



80 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

especially point out those growing out of the principles of 

UNITY, HARMONY, and VARIETY. 

Unity, or the pi'oduction of a whole, is a leading 
principle of the highest importance, in every art of taste or 
design, without which no satisfactory result can be 
realized. This arises from the fact, that the mind can only 
attend, with pleasure and satisfaction, to one object, or one 
composite sensation, at the same time. If two distinct 
objects, or classes of objects, present themselves at once to 
us, w^e can only attend satisfactorily to one, by withdraw- 
ing our attention for the time from the other. Hence the 
necessity of a reference to this leading principle of unity. 

To illustrate the subject, let us suppose a building, 
partially built of wood, with square windows, and the 
remainder of brick or stone, with long and narrow 
windows. However well such a building may be con- 
structed, or however nicely the diilerent proportions of the 
edifice may be adjusted, it is evident it can never form a 
satisfactory whole. The mind can only account for such 
an absurdity, by supposing it to have been built by two 
individuals, or at two different times, as there is nothing 
indicating unity of mind in its composition. 

In Landscape Gardening, violations of the principle of 
unity are often to be met with, and they are always indi- 
cative of the absence of correct taste in art. Looking upon 
a landscape from the windows of a villa residence, we 
sometimes see a considerable portion of the view embraced 
by the eye, laid out in natural groups of trees and shrubs, 
and upon one side, or perhaps in the middle of the same 
scene, a formal avenue leading directly up to the house. 
Such a view can never appear a satisfactory whole, 
because we experience a confusion of sensations in con- 



BEAUTIES AND PRINCIPLES OF THE ART. 81 

templating it. There is an evident incongruity in bringing 
two modes of arranging plantations, so totally difierent, 
under the eye at one moment, which distracts, rather than 
pleases the mind. In this example, the avenue, taken by 
it.self, may be a beautiful object, and the groups and con- 
nected masses may, in themselves, be elegant ; yet if the 
two portions are seen together, they will not form a whole, 
because they cannot make a composite idea. For the 
same reason, there is something unpleasing in the introduc- 
tion of fruit trees among elegant ornamental trees on a 
lawn, or even in assembling together, in the same beds, 
flowering plants and culinary vegetables — one class of 
vegetation suggesting the useful and homely alone to the 
mind, and the other, avowedly, only the ornamental. 

In the arrangement of a large extent of surface, where a 
great many objects are necessarily presented to the eye at 
once, the principle of unity will suggest thai there should 
be some grand or leading features to which the others 
should be merely subordinate. Thus, in grouping trees, 
there should be some large and striking masses to which 
the others appear to belong, however distant, instead of 
scattered groups, all of the same size. Even in arranging 
walks, a whole will more readily be recognised, if there are 
one or two of large size, with which the others appear 
connected as branches, than if all are equal in breadth, 
and present the same appearance to the eye in passing. 

In all works of art which command universal admiration 
we discover an unity of conception and composition, an 
unity of taste and execution. To assemble in a single 
composition forms which are discordant, and portions 
dissimilar in plan, can only afford pleasure for a short time 
to tasteless minds, or those fond of trifling and puerile 



82 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

conceits. The production of an accordant whole is, on 
the contrary, capable of affording the most permanent 
enjoyment to educated minds, everywhere, and at all periods 
of time. 

After unity, the principle of Variety is worthy of con- 
sideration, as a fertile source of beauty in Landscape Gar- 
dening. Variety must be considered as belonging more to 
the details than to the production of a whole, and it may 
be attained by disposing trees and shrubs in numerous dif- 
ferent ways ; and by the introduction of a great number of 
different species of vegetation, or kinds of walks, ornamental 
objects, buildings, and seats. By producing intricacy, it 
creates in scenery a thousand points of interest, and elicits 
new beauties, through different arrangements and combi- 
nations of forms and colors, light and shades. In pleasure- 
grounds, while the whole should exhibit a general plan, the 
different scenes presented to the eye, one after the other, 
should possess sufficient variety in the detail to keep alive 
the interest of the spectator, and awaken further curiosity. 

Harmony may be considered the principle presiding over 
variety, and preventing it from becoming discordant. It, 
indeed, always supposes contrasts, but neither so strong nor 
so frequent as to produce discord ; and variety, but not so 
great as to destroy a leading expression.- In plantations, 
we seek it in a combination of qualities, opposite in some 
respects, as in the color of the foliage, and similar in others 
more important, as the form. In embellishments, by a great 
variety of objects of interest, as sculptured vases, sun dials, 
or rustic seats, baskets, and arbors, of different forms, but all 
in accordance, or keeping with the spirit of the scene. 

To illustrate the three principles, with reference to Land- 
scape Gardening, we may remark, that, if unity only were 



BEAUTIES AND PRINCIPLES OF THE ART. 83 

consulted, a scene might be planted with but one kind of 
tree, the effect of which would be sameness ; on the other 
hand, variety might be carried so far as to have every tree 
of a different kind, which would produce a confused effect. 
Harmony, however, introduces contrast and variety, but 
keeps them subordinate to unity, and to the leading expres- 
sion ; and is, thus, the highest principle of the three. 

In this brief abstract of the nature of imitation in Land- 
scape Gardening and the kinds of beauty which it is possible 
to produce by means of the art, we have endeavored to 
elucidate its leading principles, clearly, to the reader. 
These grand principles we shall here succinctly recapitu- 
late, premising that a familiarity with them is of the very 
first importance in the successful practice of this elegant 
art, viz. : 

The Imitation of the Beauty of Expression, derived 
from a refined perception of the sentiment of nature : The 
Recognition of Art, founded on the immutability of the 
true, as well as the beautiful : And the Production of 
Unity, Harmony, and Variety, in order to render com- 
plete and continuous, our enjoyment of any artistical 
work. 

Neither the professional Landscape Gardener, nor the 
amateur, can hope for much success in realizing the nobler 
effects of the art, unless he first make himself master of the 
natural character or prevailing expression of the place to 
be improved. In this nice perception, at a glance, of the 
natural expression, as well as the capabilities of a residence, 
lies the secret of the superior results produced even by the 
improver, who, to use the words of Horace Walpole, " is 
proud of no other art than that of softening nature's harsh- 
ness, and copying her graceful touch." When we discover 



84 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

the picturesque indicated in the grounds of the residence to 
be treated, let us take advantage of it ; and while all harsh- 
ness incompatible with scenery near the house is removed, 
the original expression may in most cases be heightened, in 
all rendered more elegant and appropriate, without lower- 
ing it in force or spirit. In like manner good taste will 
direct us to embellish scenery expressive of the Beautiful, 
by the addition of forms, whether in trees, buildings, or 
other objects, harmonious in character, as well as in color 
and outline. 



ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 85 



SECTION III. 

ON WOOD. 

The beanty of Trees in Rural Embellishments. Pleasure resulting from their cultivation. 
Plantations in the Ancient Stylo ; their fonnallty. In the Modern Style ; grouping trees. 
Arrangement and grouping in the Graceful school ; in the Picturesque school. Illugtra- 
tions in planting villa, ferme orntie, and cottage grounds. General classification of trees 
as to forms, with leading characteristics of eacli class. 

" He gains all points, who pleasingly confounds. 
Surprises, varies, and conceals the bounds. 
Calls in the country, catches opening glades, 
Joins willing woods, and varies shades from shades ; 
Now breaks, or now directs the intending lines ; 
Paints as you plant, and, as you work, designs." 

Pope. 



7/ 




M O N G all the materials at our disposal 
for the embellishment of country resi- 
idences, none are at once so highly orna- 
mental, so indispensable, and so easily managed, as trees, or 
wood. We introduce them in every part of the landscape, 
— in the foreground as well as in the distance, on the tops 
of the hills and in the depths of the valleys. They are, in- 
deed, like the drapery which covers a somewhat ungainly 
figure, and while it conceals its defects, communicates to it 
new interest and expression. 

A tree, undoubtedly, is one of the most beautiful objects 
in nature. Airy and delicate in its youth, luxuriant and 
majestic in its prime, venerable and picturesque in its old 



86 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

age, it constitutes in its various forms, sizes, and develop- 
ments, the greatest charm and beauty of the earth in all 
countries. The most varied outline of surface, the finest 
combination of picturesque materials, the stateliest country 
house would be comparatively tame and spiritless, without 
the inimitable accompaniment of foliage. Let those who 
have passed their whole lives in a richly wooded country, 
— whose daily visions are deep leafy glens, forest clad hills, 
and plains luxuriantly shaded, — transport themselves for a 
moment to the desert, where but a few stunted bushes raise 
their heads above the earth, or those wild steppes where 
the eye wanders in vain for some " leafy garniture," — ^where 
the sun strikes down with parching heat, or the wind 
sweeps over with unbroken fury, and they may, perhaps, 
estimate, by contrast, their beauty and value. 

We are not now to enumerate the great usefulness of 
trees, — their value in the construction of our habitations, 
our navies, the various implements of labor, — in short, the 
thousand associations which they suggest as ministering to 
our daily wants ; but let us imagine the loveliest scene, the 
wildest landscape, or the most enchanting valley, despoiled 
of trees, and we shall find nature shorn of her fair propor- 
tions, and the character and expression of these favorite 
spots almost entirely destroyed. 

Wood, in its many shapes, is then one of the greatest 
sources of interest and character in Landscapes. Variety, 
which we need scarcely allude to as a fertile source of 
beauty, is created in a wonderful degree by a natural 
arrangement of trees. To a pile of buildings, or even of 
ruins, to a group of rocks or animals, they communicate 
new life and spirit by their irregular outlines, which, by 
partially concealing some portions, and throwing others 



ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 87 

into stronger light, contribute greatly to produce intricacy 
and variety, and confer an expression, which, without these 
latter qualities, might in a great measure be wanting. By 
shutting out some parts, and inclosing others, they divide 
the extent embraced by the eye into a hundred different 
landscapes, instead of one tame scene bounded by the 
horizon. 

The different seasons of the year, too, are inseparably 
connected in our minds with the effects produced by them 
on woodland scenery. Spring is joyous and enlivening to 
us, as nature then puts on her fresh livery of green, and the 
trees bud and blossom with a renewed beauty, that speaks 
with a mute and gentle eloquence to the heart. In sum- 
mer they offer us a grateful shelter under their umbrageous 
arms and leafy branches, and whisper unwritten music to 
the passing breeze. In autumn we feel a melancholy 
thoughtfulness as 

" We stand among the fallen leaves," 

and gaze upon their dying glories. And in winter we see 
in them the silent rest of nature, and behold in their leaf- 
less spray, and seemingly dead limbs, an annual type of 
that deeper mystery — the deathless sleep of all being. 

By the judicious employment of trees in the embellishment 
of a country residence, we may effect the greatest alterations 
and improvements within the scope of Landscape Garden- 
ing. Buildings which are tame, insipid, or even mean in 
appearance, may be made interesting, and often picturesque, 
by a proper disposition of trees. Edifices, or parts of them 
that are unsightly, or which it is desirable partly or wholly 
to conceal, can readily be hidden or improved by wood ; 
and walks and roads, which otherwise would be but simple 



88 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

ways of approach from one point to another, are, by an 
elegant arrangement of trees on their margins, or adjacent 
to them, made the most interesting and pleasing portions of 
the residence. 

In Geometric gardening, trees disposed in formal lines, 
exhibit as strongly art or design in the contriver, as regu- 
lar architectural edifices ; while, in a more elevated and 
enlightened taste, we are able to dispose them in our plea- 
sure-grounds and parks, around our houses, in all the vari- 
ety of groups, masses, thicket, and single trees, in such a 
manner as to rival the most beautiful scenery of general 
nature ; producing a portion of landscape which unites with 
all the comforts and conveniences of rural habitation, the 
superior charm of refined arrangement, and natural beauty 
of expression. 

If it were necessary to present any other inducement 
to the country gentleman to form plantations of trees, 
than the great beauty and value which they add to his 
estate, we might find it in the pleasure which all derive 
from their cultivation. Unlike the pleasure arising from 
the gratification of our taste in architecture, or any other 
of the arts whose productions are offered to us perfect 
and complete, the satisfaction arising from planting and 
rearing trees is never weakened. " We look," says a 
writer, " upon our trees as our offspring ; and nothing 
of inanimate nature can be more gratifying than to see 
them grow and prosper under our care and attention, — 
nothing more interesting than to examine their progress, 
and mark their several peculiarities. In their progress 
from plants to trees, they every year unfold new and 
characteristic marks of their ultimate beauty, which not 
only compensate for past cares and troubles, but like the 



ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 89 

returns of gratitude, raise a most delightful train of 
sensations in the mind ; so innocent and rational, that 
they may justly rank with the most exquisite of human 
enjoyments." 

" Happy is he, who in a country life 
Shuns more perplexing toil and jarring strife; 
Who Lives upon the natal soil he loves, 
And sits beneath his old ancestral groves." 

To this, let us add the complacent feelings with which a 
man in old age may look around him and behold these 
leafy monarchs, planted by his boyish hands and nurtured 
by him in his youthful years, which have grown aged and 
venerable along with him ; 

" A wood coeval with himself he sees, 
And loves his own contemporary trees." 

Plantations in the Ancient Style. In the arrange- 
ment and culture of trees and plants in the ancient style 
of Landscape Gardening, we discover the evidences of 
the formal taste, — abounding with every possible variety 
of quaint conceits, and rife with whimsical expedients, 
so much in fashion during the days of Henry and Eliza- 
beth, and until the eighteenth century in England, and 
which is still the reigning mode in Holland, and parts of 
France. In these gardens, nature was tamed and subdued, 
or as some critics will have it, tortured into every shape 
which the ingenuity of the gardener could suggest ; and 
such kinds of vegetation as bore the shears most patiently, 
and when carefully trimmed, assumed gradually the 
appearance of verdant statues, pyramids, crowing cocks, 
and rampant lions, were the especial favorites of the 



90 LANDSCAPE GARDEMNG. 

gardeners of the old school.* The stately etiquette and 
courtly precision of the manners of our English ancestors, 
extended into their gardens, and were reflected back by the 
very trees which lined their avenues, and the shrubs which 
surrounded their houses. "Nonsuch, Theobalds, Green- 
wich, Hampton Court, Hatfield, Moor-Park, Chatsworth, 
Beaconfield, Cashiobury, Ham, and many another," says 
William Howitt, " stood in all that stately formality which 
Henry and Elizabeth admired ; and in which our Surreys, 
Leicesters, Essexes, the splendid nobles of the Tudor 
dynasty, the gay ladies and gallants of Charles II.'s court, 
had walked and talked, — fluttering in glittering processions, 
or flirting in green alleys and bowers of topiary work, and 
amid figures, in lead or stone, fountains, cascades, — 
copper-trees dropping sudden showers on the astonished 
passers under, stately terraces v/ith gilded balustrades, and 
curious quincunxes, obelisks, and pyramids ; — fitting objects 
of admiration of those who walked in high heeled shoes, 
ruffs, and fardingales, with fan in hand, or in trunk hose 
and laced doublet." 

Symmetrical uniformity governed with despotic power 
even the trees and foliage, in the ancient style. In the 
more simple country residences, the plantations were 
always arranged in some regular lines or geometrical 
figures. Long parallel rows of trees were planted for 
groves and avenues along the principal roads and walks. 
The greatest care was taken to avoid any appearance of 
irregularity. A tree upon one side of the house was 
opposed by another vis a vis, and a row of trees at the 

* The unique ideal of the " Garden of Eden," by one of the old Dutch 
painters, with sheared hedges, formal alleys, and geometric plots of flowers, for 
the entertainment of our first parents, is doubtless familiar to our readers. 



ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 



91 



right of the mansion had its always accompanying row 
on the left : or, as Pope in his Satire has more rhythmically 
expressed it — 



" Grove nods at grove, each alley has its brother. 
And half the platform just reflects the other." 



In the interior of the park, the plantations were generally 
disposed either in straight avenues crossing each other, or 
clumped in the form of circles, stars, squares, etc. ; and 
long vistas w^ere obtained through the avenues divaricating 
from the house in various directions, over level surfaces. 
One of the favorite fancies of the geometric gardener 
was the Labyrinth (fig. 17), of which a few celebrated 
examples are still in existence in England, and which 
consisted of a multitude of trees thickly planted in 
impervious hedges, covering sometimes several acres of 
ground. These labyrinths were the source of much 
amusement to the family and guests, the trial of skill being 
to find the centre, and from that point to return again 
without assistance ; and we are told by a historian of the 
garden of that period, that "the stranger having once 
entered, was sorely puzzled to get out." 




92 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

Since the days when these gardens were in their glory 
the taste in Landscape Gardening has undergone a great 
change. The beautiful and the picturesque are the new 
elements of interest, which, entering into the composition 
of our gardens and home landscapes, have to refined minds 
increased a hundred fold the enjoyment derived from this 
species of rural scenery. Still, there is much to admire 
in the ancient style. Its long and majestic avenues, the 
wide-spreading branches interlacing over our heads, and 
forming long, shadowy aisles, are, themselves alone, among 
the noblest and most imposing sylvan objects. Even the 
formal and curiously knotted gardens are interesting, from 
the pleasing associations which they suggest to the mind, 
as having been the favorite haunts of Shakspeare, Bacon, 
Spenser, and Milton. They are so inseparably connected, 
too, in our imaginations, with the quaint architecture of 
that era, that wherever that style of building is adopted 
(and we observe several examples already among us) this 
style of gardening may be considered as highly appropriate, 
and in excellent keeping with such a country house. 

It has been remarked, that the geometric style would 
always be preferred in a new country, or in any country 
where the amount of land under cultivation is much less 
than that covered with natural woods and forests ; as the 
inhabitants being surrounded by scenery abounding with 
natural beauty, would always incline to lay out their gar- 
dens and pleasure-grounds in regular forms, because the 
distinct exhibition of art would give more pleasure by con- 
trast, than the elegant imitation of beautiful nature. That 
this is true as regards the mass of uncultivated minds, we 
do not deny. But at the same time we affirm that it 
evinces a meagre taste, and a lower state of the art, or a 



ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 93 

lower perception of beauty in the individual who employs 
the geometrical style in such cases. A person, whose 
place is surrounded by inimitably grand or sublime scenery, 
would undoubtedly fail to excite our admiration, by at- 
tempting a fac-simile imitation of such scenery on the small 
scale of a park or garden ; but he is not, therefore, obliged 
to resort to right-lined plantations and regular grass plots, 
to produce something which shall be at once sufficiently 
different to attract notice, and so beautiful as to command 
admiration. All that it would be requisite for him to do 
in such a case, would be to employ rare and foreign orna- 
mental trees ; as for example, the horse-chestnut and the 
linden, in situations Avhere the maple and the sycamore are 
the principal trees, — elegant flowering shrubs and beautiful 
creepers, instead of sumacs and hazels, — and to have his 
place kept in high and polished order, instead of the tan- 
gled wildness of general nature. 

On the contrary, were a person to desire a residence 
newly laid out and planted, in a district where all around 
is in a high state of polished cultivation, as in the suburbs 
of a city, a species of pleasure would result from the imita- 
tion of scenery of a more spirited, natural character, 
as the picturesque, in his grounds. His plantations are 
made in irregular groups, composed chiefly of picturesque 
trees, as the larch, &c. — his walks would lead through 
varied scenes, sometimes bordered with groups of rocks 
overrun with flowering creepers and vines ; sometimes 
with thickets or little copses of shrubs and flowering 
plants ; sometimes through wild and comparatively ne- 
glected portions ; the whole interspersed with open glades 
of turf. 

In the majority of instances in the United States, the 



94 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

modern style of Landscape Gardening, wherever it is ap- 
preciated, will, in practice, consist in arranging a demesne 
of from five to some hundred acres, — or rather that portion 
of it, say one half, one third, etc., devoted to lawn and 
pleasure-ground, pasture, etc. — so as to exhibit groups of 
forest and ornamental trees and shrubs, surrounding the 
dwelling of the proprietor, and extending for a greater or 
less distance, especially towards the place of entrance from 
the public highway. Near the house, good taste will dic- 
tate the assemblage of groups and masses of the rarer or 
more beautiful trees and shrubs ; commoner native forest 
trees occupying the more distant portions of the grounds.* 
Plantations in the Modern Style. In the Modern 
Style of Landscape Gardening, it is our aim, in plantations, 
to produce not only what is called natural beauty, but 
even higher and more striking beauty of expression, and of 
individual forms, than we see in nature ; to create variety 



* Although we love planting, and avow that there are few greater pleasures 
than to see a darling tree, of one's own placing, every year stretching wider its 
feathery head of foliage, and covering with a darker shadow the soft turf beneath 
it, still, we will not let the ardent and inexperienced hunter after a location for 
a country residence, pass without a word of advice. This is, always to make 
considerable sacrifice to get a place with some existing wood, or a few ready 
groion trees tipon it ; especially near the site for the house. It is better to 
yield a Httle in the extent of prospect, or in the direct proximity to a certain 
locality,' than to pitch your tent in a plain, — desert-like in its bareness — on 
which your leafy sensibilities must suffer for half a dozen years at least, before 
you can hope for any solace. It is doubtful whether there is not almost as 
much interest in studying from one's window the curious ramifications, the 
variety of form, and the entire harmony, to be found in a fine old tree, as in 
gazing from a site where we have no interruption to a panorama of the whole 
horizon ; and we have generally found that no planters have so little courage 
and faith, as those who have commenced without the smallest group of large 
trees, as a nucleus for their plantations. 



ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 95 

and intricacy in the gi'ounds of a residence by various 
modes of arrangement ; to give a highly elegant or polished 
air to places by introducing rare and foreign species ; and 
to conceal all defects of surface, disagreeable views, un- 
sightly buildings, or other offensive objects. 

As uniformity, and grandeur of single effects, were the 
aim of the old style of arrangement, so variety and har- 
mony of the whole are the results for which we labor in 
the modern landscape. And as the Avenue, or the straight 
line, is the leading form in the geometric arrangement of 
plantations, so let us enforce it upon our readers, the Group 
is equally the key-note of the Modern style. The smallest 
place, having only three trees, may have these pleasingly 
connected in a group ; and the largest and finest park — the 
Blenheim or Chatsworth, of seven miles square, is only 
composed of a succession of groups, becoming masses, 
thickets, woods. If a demesne with the most beautiful 
surface and views has been for some time stiffly and 
awkwardly planted, it is exceedingly difficult to give it a 
natural and agreeable air ; while many a tame level, with 
scarcely a glimpse of distance, has been rendered lovely 
by its charming groups of trees. How necessary, therefore, 
is it, in the very outset, that the novice, before he begins 
to plant, should know how to arrange a tasteful group ! 

Nothing, at first thought, would appear easier than to 
arrange a few trees in the form of a natural and beautiful 
group, — and nothing really is easier to the practised hand. 
Yet experience has taught us that the generality of persons, 
in commencing their first essays in ornamental planting, 
almost invariably crowd their trees into a close, regular 
clump, which has a most formal and unsightly appearance, 



96 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

as different as possible from the easy, flowing outline of the 
group.* 

" Were it made the object of study," said Price, " how- 
to invent something, which, under the name of ornament, 
grt^-'\ should disfigure a whole park, nothing could 

fir 01^ be contrived to answer that purpose like a 
.=;.„._-i,;,j^py^^ clamp. Natural groups, being formed by trees 
of different aa:es and sizes, and at different distances from 
each other, often too by a mixture of those of the largest 
size with others of inferior growth, are full of variety in 
their outlines ; and from the same causes, no two groups 
are exactly alike. But clumps, from the trees being gene- 
rally of the same age and growth, from their being planted 
nearly at the same distance, in a circular form, and from 
each tree being equally pressed by his neighbor, are as like 
each other as so many puddings turned out of one com- 
mon mould. Natural groups are full of openings and 
hollows, of trees advancing before, or retiring behind each 
other ; all productive of intricacy, of variety, of deep 
shadows and brilliant lights : in walking about them the 
form changes at every step ; nevv^ combinations, new lights 
and shades, new inlets present themselves in succession. 

* A friend of ours, at Northampton, who is a most zealous planter, related to 
U3 a diverting expedient to which he was obliged to resort, in order to ensure 
irregular groups. Busily engaged in arranging plantations of young trees on 
his lawn, he was hastily obliged to leave home, and intrust the planting of the 
groups to some common garden laborers, whose ideas he could not raise to a 
point sufficiently high to appreciate any beauty in plantations, unless made in 
regular forms and straight lines. " Being well aware," says our friend, " that 
if left to themselves I should find all my trees, on my return, in hollow squares 
or circular clumps, I hastily threw vp a peck of potatoes into the air, one by 
one, and directed my workmen to plant a tree where every potatoe fell! 
Thus, if I did not attain the maximum of beauty in grouping, I at least had 
something not so offensive as geometrical fisrures."' 



ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 97 

But clumps, like compact bodies of soldiers, resist attacks 
from all quarters ; examine them in every ])oint ot" view ; 
walk round and round them ; no opening, )io vacancy, no 
stragglers ; but in the true military character, Us sont face 
par tout /"* 

The chief care, then, which is necessary in the forma- 
tion of gi'oups, is, not to place them in any regular or 
artificial manner, — as one at each corner of a triangle, 
square, octagon, or other many-sided figure ; but so to 
dispose them, as that the whole may exhibit the variety, 
connexion, and intricacy seen in nature. " The greatest 
beauty of a group of trees," says Loudon, " as far as 
respects their stems, is in the varied direction these take 
as they gi'ow into trees ; but as that i.s, for all practical 
purposes, beyond the influence of art, all we can do, is to 
vary as much as possible the ground plan of groups, or 
the relative positions which the stems have to each other 
where they spring from the earth. This is considerable, 
even where a very few trees are used, of which any 
])erson may convince himself by placing a few dots on 
paper. Thus two trees (fig. 18), or a tree and shrub, 
which is the smallest group (a), may be placed in three 
different positions with reference to a spectator in a fixed 
point ; if he moves round them, they will first vary in form 
separately, and next unite in one or two groups, according 
to the position of the spectator. In like manner, three 

* Those who peruse Price's " Essay on the Picturesque,' cannot fail to be 
entertained with the vigor with which he advocates the picturesque, and 
attacks the clumping method of laying out grounds, fo much practised in Eng- 
land on the first introduction of the modern style. Brown was the great 
practitioner at that time, and his favorite mode seems to have been to cover 
the whole surface of the grounds with an unmeaning assemblage of round 
bunch V clumps. 

7 



98 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

trees may be placed in four different positions ; four trees 
may be placed in eight different positions (&) ; five trees 
may be grouped in ten different ways, as to ground plan ; 
six may be placed in twelve different ways (c), and so on.'J 
{Encyclopcedia of Gard.) 






A 






%^ ^ ^•■••^ . *-^ 



%-K 1^^ 



« 



•t* 



[Fig. 18. Grouping of Trees.] 

In the composition of larger masses, similar rules must 
be observed as in the smaller groups, in order to prevent 
them from growing up in heavy, clumpish forms. The 
outline must be flowing, here projecting out into the grass, 
there receding back into the plantation, in order to take 
off" all appearance of stiffiiess and regularity. Trees of 
medium and smaller size should be so interspersed with 
those of larger growth, as to break up all formal sweeps in 
the line produced by the tops of their summits, and oc- 



ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 



99 



casionally, low trees should be planted on the outer edge 
of the mass, to connect it with the humble verdure of the 
surrounding sward. 

* In many pai'ts of the union, where new residences are 
being formed, or where old ones are to be improved, the 
grounds will often be found, partially, or to a considerable 
extent, clothed with belts or masses of wood, either pre- 
viously planted, or preserved from the woodman's axe. 
How easily Ave may turn these to advantage in the natural 
style of Landscape Gardening ; and by judicious trimming 
when too thick, or additions when too much scattered, 
elicit often the happiest effects, in a magical manner ! In 
the accompanying sketch (fig. 19), the reader will re- 
cognise a portrait of a hundred familiar examples, existing 
with us, of the places of persons of considerable means and 
intelligence, where the house is not less meagre than the 




fFig. 19. View of a Country Residence, as frequently seen.] 



Stiff approach leading to it, bordered .with a formal belt of 
trees. The succeeding sketch (fig. 20) exhibits this place 
as improved agreeably to the principles of modern Land- 
scape Gardening, not only in the plantations, but in the 
house, — which appears tastefully altered from a plain un- 
meaning parallelogram, to a simple, old English cottage, — 
and in the more graceful a])proach. Effects like those 



100 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



are within the reach of very moderate means, and are 
peculiarly worth attention in this country, where so much 
has already been partially, and often badly executed. 




[Fig. 20. View of the same Residence, improved.] 

Where there are large masses of wood to regulate and 
arrange, much skill, taste, and judgment, are requisite, to 
enable the proprietors to preserve only what is really 
beautiful and picturesque, and to remove all that is super- 
fluous. Most of our native woods, too, have gi'own so 
closely, and the trees are consequently so much drawn up, 
that should the improver thin out any portion, at once, to 
single trees, he will be greatly disappointed if he expects 
them to stand long ; for the first severe autumnal gale 
Avill almost certainly prostrate them. The only method, 
therefore, is to allow them to remain in groups of con- 
siderable size at first, and to thin them out as is finally 
desired, when they have made stronger roots and become 
more inured to the influence of the sun and air.* 

But to return to gi'ouping ; what \ve have already en- 
deavored to render familiar to the reader, may be called 

* When, in thinning woods in this manner, those left standing have a mea- 
gre appearance, a luxuriant growth may be promoted by the application of 
manure plentifully dug in about the roots. This will also, by causing an abun- 
dant growth of new roots, strengthen the trees in their position. 



ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 101 

grouping in its simple meaning — for general effect, and 
with an eye only to the natural beauty of pleasing forms. 
Let us now explain, as concisely as we may, the mode of 
grouping in the two schools of Landscape Gardening here- 
tofore defined, that is to say, grouping and planting for 
Beautiful effect, and for Picturesque effect ; as we wish it 
understood that these two different expressions, in artificial 
landscape, are always to a certain extent under our control. 

Planting and Grouping to produce the Beautiful. 
The elementary features of this expression our readers 
will remember to be fulness and softness of outline, and 
perfectly luxuriant development. To insure these in plan- 
tations, we must commence by choosing mainly trees of 
graceful habit and flowing outlines ; and of this class of 
trees, hereafter more fully illustrated, the American elm 
and the maple may be taken as the type. Next, in dis- 
posing them, they must usually be planted rather distant 
in the groups, and often singly. We do not mean by this, 
that close groups may not occasionally be formed, but there 
should be a predominance of trees grouped at such a dis- 
tance from each other, as to allow a full development of 
the branches on every side. Or, when a close group is 
planted, the trees composing it should be usually of the 
same or a similar kind, in order that they may grow up 
together and form one finely rounded head. Rich creepers 
and blossoming vines, that grow in fine luxuriant wreaths 
and masses, are fit accompaniments to occasional groups 
in this manner. Fig. 21 represents a plan of trees grouped 
along a road or walk, so as to develope the Beautiful. 

It is proper that we should here remark, that a distinct 
species of after treatment is required for the two modes. 
Trees, or groups, where the Beautiful is aimed at, should be 



102 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 




[Fig. 21. Grouping to produce the Beautifnl.J 



pruned with great care, and indeed scarcely at all, except 
to remedy disease, or to correct a bad form. Above all, 
the full luxuriance and development of the tree should be 
encouraged by good soil, and repeated manurings when 
necessary ; and that most expressively elegant fall and 
droop of the branches, which so completely denotes the 
Beautiful in trees, should never be warred against by any 
trimming of the lower branches, which must also be care- 
fully preserved against cattle, whose browsing line would 
soon efface this most beautiful disposition in some of our 
fine lawn trees. Clean, smooth stems, fresh and tender 
bark, and a softly rounded pyramidal or drooping head, 
are the characteristics of a Beautiful tree. We need not 
add that gently sloping ground, or surfaces rolling in easy 
undulations, should accompany such plantations. 

Planting and Grouping to produce the PicTUREsauE. 
All trees are admissible in a picturesque place, but a pre- 
dominance must be used by the planter of what are truly 
called picturesque trees, of which the larch and fir tribe, 



ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 



103 



and some species of oak, may be taken as examples. In 
Picturesque plantations everything depends on intricacy 




[Fig. 22. Grouping to produce the Picturesque.] 



and irregularity, and grouping, therefore, must often be 
done in the most irregular manner — rarely, if ever, with 
single specimens, as every object should seem to connect 
itself with something else ; but most frequently there should 
be irregular groups, occasionally running into thickets, and 
always more or less touching each other ; trusting to after 
time for any thinning, should it be necessary. Fig. 22 
may, as compared with Fig. 21, give an idea of picturesque 
grouping. 

There should be more of the wildness of the finest and 
most forcible portions of natural woods or forests, in the 
disposition of the trees ; sometimes planting them closely, 
even two or three in the same hole, at others more loose 
and scattered. These will grow up into wilder and more 
striking forms, the barks will be deeply furrowed and rough, 
the limbs twisted and irregular, and the forms and outlines 
distinctly varied. They should often be intermixed with 
smaller undergrowth of a similar character, as the hazel, 
hawthorn, etc., and formed into such picturesque and strik- 



J 04 J.ANDSCAPE GARDEiVING. 

ing groups, as painters love to study and introduce into 
their pictures. Sturdy and bright vines, or such as are 
themselves picturesque in their festoons and hangings, 
should be allowed to clamber over occasional trees in a 
negligent manner ; and the surface and grass, in parts of 
the scene not immediately in the neighborhood of the 
mansion, may be kept short by the cropping of animals, or 
allowed to grow in a more careless and loose state, like that 
of tangled dells and natural woods. 

There will be the same open glades in picturesque as in 
beautiful plantations ; but these openings, in the former, 
will be bounded by groups and thickets of every form, and 
of different degrees of intricacy, while in the latter the 
eye will repose on softly rounded masses of foliage, or sin- 
gle open groups of trees, with finely balanced and graceful 
heads and branches. 

In order to know how a plantation in the Pictui*esque 
mode should be treated, after it is established, we should 
reflect a moment on what constitutes picturesqueness in 
any tree. This will be found to consist either in a certain 
natural roughness of bark, or wildness of form and outline, 
or in some accidental curve of a branch of striking manner 
of growth, or perhaps of both these conjoined. A broken 
or crooked limb, a leaning trunk, or several stems springing 
from the same base, are frequently peculiarities that at once 
stamp a tree as picturesque. Hence, it is easy to see that 
the excessive care of the cultivator of trees in the graceful 
school to obtain the smoothest trunks, and the most sweep- 
ing, perfect, and luxuriant heads of foliage, is quite the 
opposite of what is the picturesque arboriculturist's ambi- 
tion. He desires to encourage a certain wildness of growth, 
and allows his trees to spring up occasionally in thickets 



ON WOOD AM) PLANTATION'S. 105 

to assist this effect ; he delights in occasional iiTcgularity 
of stem and outhne, and he therefore suffers his trees here 
and there to crowd each otiier ; he admires a twisted hmb 
or a moss covered branch, and in pruning he therefore is 
careful to leave precisely what it would be the aim of the 
other to remove ; and his pruning, where it is at all neces- 
sary, is directed rather towards increasing the naturally 
striking and peculiar habit of the picturesque tree, than 
assisting it in developing a form of unusual refinement and 
symmetry. From these remarks we think the amateur 
will easily divine, that planting, grouping, and culture to 
produce the Beautiful, require a much less artistic eye 
(though much more care and attention) than performing 
the same operations to elicit the Picturesque. The charm 
of a refined and polished landscape garden, as we usually 
see it in the Beautiful grounds with all the richness and 
beauty developed by high culture, arises from our admira- 
tion of the highest perfection, the greatest beauty of form, 
to which every object can be brought ; and, in trees, a 
judicious selection, with high cultivation, will always pro- 
duce this effect. 

But in the Picturesque landscape garden there is visible 
a piquancy of effect, certain bold and striking growths 
and combinations, which we feel at once, if we know them 
to be the result of art, to be the production of a peculiar 
species of attention — not merely good, or even refined 
ornamental gardening. In short, no one can be a pictu- 
resque improver (if he has to begin with young plantations) 
who is not himself something of an artist — who has not 
studied nature with an artistical eye — and who is not 
capable of imitating, eliciting, or heightening, in his plan- 
tations or other portions of his residence, the picturesque 



4 



106 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

in its many variations. And we may add here, that effi- 
cient and charming as is the assistance which all orna- 
mental planters will derive from the study of the best 
landscape engravings and pictm'es of distinguished artists, 
they are indispensably necessary to the picturesque im- 
prover. In these he will often find embodied the choicest 
and most captivating studies from picturesque nature ; and 
will see at a glance the effect of certain combinations of 
trees, which he might otherwise puzzle himself a dozen 
years to know how to produce 

After all, as the picturesque improver here will most 
generally be found to be one who chooses a comparatively 
wild and wooded place, we may safely say that, if he has 
the true feeling for his work, he Avill always find it vastly 
easier than those w^ho strive after the Beautiful ; as the 
majority of the latter may be said to begin nearly anew — 
choosing places not for wildness and intricacy of wood, but 
for openness and the smiling, sunny, undulating plain, 
where they must of course to a good extent plant anew. 

After becoming well acquainted with grouping, we 
should bring ourselves to regard those principles which 
govern our improvements as a whole. We therefore must 
call the attention of the improver to the two following 
principles, which are to be constantly in view : the pro- 
duction of a whole, and the proper connexion of the parts. 

Any person who will take the trouble to reflect for a mo- 
ment on the great diversity of surface, change of position, 
aspects, views, etc., in different country residences, will at 
once perceive how difficult, or, indeed, how impossible it 
is, to lay down any fixed or exact rules for arranging plan- 
tations in the modern style. What would be precisely 
adapted to a hilly rolling park, would often be found entire- 



0\ WOOD A\D PLANTATIONS. 107 

Iv unfit for adoption in a smooth, level surface, and the 
contrary. Indeed, the chief beauty of the modern style is 
the variety produced by following a few leading principles, 
and applying them to different and varied localities ; un- 
like the geometric style, which proceeded to level, and 
arrange, and erect its avenues and squares, alike in every 
situation, with all the precision and certainty of mathe- 
matical demonstration. 

In all grounds to be laid out, however, which are of a 
h^wn or park-like extent, and call for the exercise of judg- 
ment and taste, the mansion or dwellincr-house, beinor itself 
the chief or leading object in the scene, should form, as it 
were, the central point, to which it should be the object of 
the planter to give importance. In order to do this effec- 
tually, the large masses or groups of wood should cluster 
round, or form the back-ground to the main edifice ; and 
where the offices or out-buildings approach the same 
neighborhood, they also should be embraced. We do not 
mean by this to convey the idea, that a thick wood should 
be planted around and in the close neighborhood of the 
mansion or villa, so as to impede the free circulation of 
air ; but its appearance and advantages may be easily 
})roduced by a comparatively loose plantation of groups 
well connected by intermediate trees, so as to give all the 
effect of a large mass. The front, and at least that side 
nearest the approach road, will be left open, or nearly so ; 
while the plantations on the back-ground will give dignity 
and importance to the house, and at the same time effectu- 
ally screen the approach to the farm buildings, and other 
objects which require to be kept out of view ; and here, 
joih for the purposes of shelter and richness of effect, a 
jood proportion of evergreens should be introduced. 



108 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

From this principal mass, the plantations must break 
off in groups of greater or less size, corresponding to the 
extent covered by it ; if large, they will diverge into 
masses of considerable magnitude, if of moderate size, in 
groups made up of a number of trees. In the lawn front 
of the house, appropriate places will be found for a number 
of the most elegant single trees, or small groups of trees, 
remarkable for the beauty of their forms, foliage, or blos- 
soms. Care must be taken, however, in disposing these, 
as well as many of the groups, that they are not placed so 
as, at some future time, to interrupt or disturb the finest 
points of prospect. 

In more distant parts of the plantations will also appear 
masses of considerable extent, perhaps upon the boundary 
line, perhaps in particular situations on the sides, or in the 
interior of the whole ; and the various groups which are 
distributed between should be so managed as, though in 
most cases distinct, yet to appear to be the connecting 
links which unite these distant shadows in the composition, 
with the larger masses near the house. Sometimes seve- 
ral small groups will be almost joined together ; at others 
the effect may be kept up by a small group, aided by a few 
neighboring single trees. This, for a park-like place. 
Where the place is small, a pleasure-ground character is 
all that can be obtained. But by employing chiefly 
shrubs, and only a few trees, very similar and highly 
beautiful effects may be attained. 

The grand object in all this should be to open to the 
eye, from the windows or front of the house, a wide 
surface, partially broken up and divided by groups and 
masses of trees into a number of pleasing lawns or 
openings, differing in size and appearance, and producing 



ON V\'O0D AND PLANTATIONS. 109 

a charming variety in tlie scene, either when seen from a 
given point or wlien examined in detail. It must not be 
forgotten that, as a general rule, the grass or surface of 
the lawn answers as the principal light, and the woods or 
plantations as the shadows, in the same manner in nature 
as in painting ; and that these should be so managed as to 
lead the eye to the mansion as the most important object 
when seen from without, or correspond to it in grandeur 
and magnitude, when looked upon from within the house. 
If the surface is too much crowded with groups of foliage, 
breadth of lijiht will be found wanting • if left too bare, 
there will be felt, on the other hand, an absence of the 
noble effect of deep and broad shadows. 

One of the loveliest charms of a fine park is, undoubted- 
ly, variation or undulation of surface. Everything, 
accordingly, which tends to preserve and strengthen this 
pleasing character, should be kept constantly in view. 
Where, therefore, there are no obvious objections to such 
a course, the eminences, gentle swells, or hills, should be 
planted, in preference to the hollows or depressions. By 
planting the elevated portions of the grounds, their 
apparent height is increased ; but by planting the hollows, 
all distinction is lessened and broken up. Indeed, where 
there is but a trifling and scarcely perceptible undulation, 
the importance of the swells of surface already existing is 
surprisingly increased, when this course of planting is 
adopted ; and the whole, to the eye, appears finely 
varied. 

Where the grounds of the residence to be planted are 
level, or nearly so, and it is desirable to confine the view, 
on any or all sides, to the lawn or park itself, the boundary 
groups and masses must be so connected together as, from 



110 LANDSCAPE GARDENING, 

the most striking part or parts of tiie prospect (near the 
house for example) to answer this end. This should be 
done, not by planting a continuous, uniformly thick belt of 
trees round the outside of the whole ; but by so arranging 
the various outer groups and thickets, that when seen from 
the given points they shall appear connected in one whole. 
In this way, there will be an agreeable variation in the 
margin, made by the various bays, recesses, and detached 
projections, which could not be so well effected if the 
whole were one uniformly unbroken strip of wood. 

But where the house is so elevated as to command a 
more extensive view than is comprised in the demesne 
itself, another course should be adopted. The grounds 
planted must be made to connect themselves with the 
surrounding scenery, so as not to produce any violent 
contrast to the eye, when compared with the adjoining 
country. If then, as is most frequently the case, the lawn 
or pleasure-ground join, on either side or sides, cultivated 
farm lands, the proper connexion may be kept up by 
advancing a few groups or even scattered trees into the 
neighboring fields. In the middle states there are but few 
cultivated fields, even in ordinary farms, where there is 
not to be seen, here and there, a handsome cluster of 
saplings or a few full grown trees ; or if not these, at 
least some tall growing bushes along the fences, all of 
which, by a little exercise of this leading principle of 
connexion, can, by the planter of taste, be made to appear 
with few or trifling additions, to divaricate from, and 
ramble out of the park itself Where the park joins 
natural woods, connexion is still easier, and where it 
bounds upon one of our noble rivers, lakes, or other large 
sheets of water, of course connexion is not expected ; for 



ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. Ill 

sudden contrast and transition is there both natural and 
beautiful. 

In all cases good taste will suggest that the more polished 
parts of the lawns and grounds should, whatever character 
is attempted, be those nearest the house. There the most 
rare and beautiful sorts of trees are displayed, and the 
entire plantations agree in elegance with the style of a)t 
evinced in the mansion itself When there is much extent, 
however, as the eye wanders from the neighborhood of the 
residence, the whole evinces less polish ; and gradually, 
towards the furthest extremities, grows ruder, until it assi- 
milates itself to the wildness of general nature around. 
This, of course, applies to grounds of large extent, and must 
not be so much enforced where the lawn embraced is but 
moderate, and therefore comes more directly under the 
eye. 

It will be remembered that, in the foregoing section, we 
stated it as one of the leading principles of the art of Land- 
scape Gardening, that in every instance where the grounds 
of a country residence have a marked natural character, 
whether of beautiful or picturesque expression, the efforts 
of the improver will be most successful if he contributes 
l)y his art to aid and strengthen that expression. This 
should ever be borne in mind when we are commencing 
any improvements in planting that will affect the general 
expression of the scene, as there are but few country resi- 
dences in the United States of any importance which have 
not naturally some distinct landscape character ; and the 
labors of the improver will be productive of much greater 
satisfaction and more lasting pleasure, when they aim at 
effects in keeping with the whole scene, than if no regard 
be paid to this important point. This will be felt almost 



112 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

intuitively by persons who, perhaps, would themselves be 
incapable of describing the cause of their gratification, but 
would perceive the contrary at once ; as many are unable 
to analyse the pleasure derived from harmony in music, 
while they at once perceive the introduction of discordant 
notes. 

We do not intend that this principle should apply so 
closely, that extensive grounds naturally picturesque shall 
have nothing of the softening touches of more perfect 
beauty ; or that a demesne characterized by the latter ex- 
pression should not be occasionally enlivened with a few 
" smart touches" of the former. This is often necessary, 
indeed, to prevent tame scenery from degenerating into 
insipidity, or picturesque into wildness, too great to be 
appropriate in a country residence. Picturesque trees 
give new spirit to groups of highly beautiful ones, and the 
latter sometimes hei^jhten bv contrast the value of the 
former. All of which, however, does not prevent the 
predominance of the leading features of either style, suffi- 
ciently strong to mark it as such ; while, occasionally, 
something of zest or elegance may be borrowed from the 
opposite character, to suit the wishes or gratify the taste 
of the proprietor. 

Ground plans of ornamental plantations. To 
illustrate partially our ideas on the arrangement of plan- 
tations we place before the reader two or three examples, 
premising, that the small scale to which they are reduced 
prevents our giving to them any character beyond that of 
the general one of the design. The first (Fig. 23) repre- 
sents a portion, say one third or one half of a piece of 
property selected for a country seat, and which has hitherto 
been kept in tillage as ordinary faiin land. The public 



ON WOOD AVD PLANTATIONS. 



113 




[Fig. 23. riaii of :i common Farm, bcf iro any improvements."! 

road, a, is the boundary on one side : dd are prettily wooded 
dells or hollows, w'hich, together with a few groups near 
the proposed site of the house, c, and a few scattered single 
trees, make up the aggregate of the original woody embel- 
lishments of the locaHty. 

In the next figure (Fig. 24) a ground plan of the place i.s 
given, as it would appear after having been judiciously 
laid out and planted, with several years' growth. At a, tht^ 
approach road leaves the public highway and leads to the 
house at c ; from whence paths of smaller size, b, make 
the circuit of the ornamental portion of the residence, 
taking advantage of the wooded delLs, d, originally existing, 
which offer some scope for varied walks concealed from 
each other bv the intervening masses of thicket. It will 



114 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 






X,. . 1 1 1 1 1 M 1 1 1 1 1 i ' 




[Fig. 24. I'liii of the foroL'oin;.' sromids as a Country feat, sifter ten years' improvement ] 

be seen here, that one of the largest masses of wood forms 
a background to the house, conceaUng also the out-build- 
ings ; while, from the windows of the mansion itself, the 
trees are so an'anged as to group in the most pleasing and 
effective manner ; at the same time broad masses of turf 
meet the eye. and line distant views are had through the 
vistas in the lines, ee. In this manner the lawn appears 
divided into four distinct lawns or areas bounded by groups 
of trees, instead of being dotted over with an unmeaning 
confusion of irregular masses of foliage. The form of these 
areas varies also with every change of position in the spec- 
tator, as seen from different portions of the grounds, or differ- 
ent points in the walks ; and they can be still further varied 
at pleasure by adding more single trees or sm.all groups, 
which should always, to produce variety of outUne, be 



ON 'wood and plantations. 



115 



placed opposite the salient parts of the wood, and not in the 
recesses, which latter they would appear to diminish or 
clog up. The stables are shown at /'; the barn at g, and 
the kitchen garden adjacent at // ; the orchard at i ; and a 
small portion ot" the farm lands at k ; a back entrance to 
the out-buildings is shown in the rear of the orchard. The 
plan has been given for a place of seventy acres, thirty of 
which include the pleasure grounds, and forty the adjoin- 
ing farm lands. 

Figu7-e 25 is the plan of an American mansion 




pPig. 25. VHxi of a Mansion Ri: iiL'r.cc, hid oul in lb« aalurdl style.l 



116 LANDSCAPE GARDENING." 

residence of considerable extent, only part of the farm 
lands, /, being here delineated. In this residence, as there 
is no extensive view worth preserving beyond the bounds 
of the estate, the pleasure grounds are surrounded by an 
irregular and picturesque belt of wood. A fine natural 
streann or rivulet, which ran through the estate, has been 
formed into a handsome pond, or small lake, ^, which adds 
much to the interest of the gi'ounds. The approach road 
breaks off from the highway at the entrance lodge, a, 
and proceeds in easy curves to the mansion, h ; and the 
groups of trees on the side of this approach nearest the 
house, are so arranged that the visitor scarcely obtains 
more than a glimpse of the latter, until he amves at the 
most favorable position for a first impression. From the 
windows of the mansion, at either end, the eye ranges 
over groups of flowers and shrubs ; while, on the entrance 
front, the trees are arranged so as to heighten the natural 
expression originally existing there. On the other front, 
the broad mass of light reflected from the green turf at h, 
is balanced by the dark shadows of the picturesque 
plantations which surromid the lake, and skirt the whole 
boundary. At i, a light, inconspicuous w-ire fence 
separates that portion of the gi-ound, g, ornamented with 
flowering shrubs and kept mown by the scythe, from the 
remainder, of a park-like character, which is kept short by 
the cropping of animals. At c, are shown the stables, 
carriage house, etc., which, though near the approach 
road, are concealed by foliage, though easily accessible by 
a short curved road, returning from the house, so as not 
to present any road leading in the same direction, to 
detract from the dignity of the approach in going to it. 
A prospect tower, or rustic pavilion, on a little eminence 



ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 117 

overlooking the whole estate, is shown at j. The small 
arabesque beds near the house are filled with masses of 
choice flowering shrubs and plants ; the kitchen garden is 
shown at d, and the orchard at e. 

Suburban villa residences are, every day, becoming 
more numerous ; and in laying out the grounds around 
them, and disposing the sylvan features, there is often 
more ingenuity, and as much taste required, as in treating 
a country residence of several hundred acres. In the 
small area of from one half an acre to ten or twelve acres, 
surrounding often a villa of the first class, it is desirable 
to assemble many of the same features, and as much as 
possible of the enjoyment, which arc to be found in a large 
and elegant estate. To do this, the space allotted to 
various purposes, as the kitchen garden, lawn, etc., must 
be judiciously portioned out, and so characterized and 
divided by plantations, that the whole shall appear to be 
much larger than it really is, from the fact that the 
spectator is never allowed to see the whole at a single 
glance ; but while each portion is complete in itself, the 
plan shall present nothing incongruous or ill assorted. 

An excellent illustration of this species of residence, is 
afforded the reader in the accompanying plan (Fig. 26) of 
the grounds of Riverside Villa. This pretty villa at 
Burlington, New Jersey (to which we shall again refer), 
was lately built, and the grounds, about six or eight acres 
in extent, laid out, from the designs of John Notman, Esq., 
architect, of Philadelphia ; and while the latter promise a 
large amount of beauty and enjoyment, scarcely anything 
which can be supposed necessary for the convenience or 
wants of the family, is lost sight of 

The house, a, stands quite near the bank of the river, 



118 



LANDSCAPE GARnENMNG. 




[Fill. 26. ri;;n of u Sulairlian Villa Kesidpiiee] 

while one front commands fine water views, and the other 
looks into the lawn or pleasure grounds, b. On one side 
of the area is the kitchen garden, c, separated and 
concealed from the lawn by thick groups of evergreen 
and deciduous trees. At e, is a picturesque orchard, in 
which the fruit trees are planted in groups instead of 
straight lines, for the sake of effect. Directly under the 
wmdows of the drawing-room is the flower garden, f; and 



ON WOOD ANn PLANTATIONS. 119 

at g, is a scat. The walk around the hvwn is also a 
carriage road, affording entrance and egress from the rear 
of the grounds, for garden purposes, as well as from the 
front of the house. At //, is situated the ice-house ; d. 
hot-beds ; j, bleaching green ; i, gardener's house, etc. In 
the rear of the latter are the stables, which are not shown 
on the plan. 

The embellished farm (Jerme ornee) is a pretty mode 
of combining something of the beauty of the landscape 
garden with the utility of the farm, and we hope to see 
small country seats of this kind become more general. As 
regards profit in farming, of course, all modes of arranging 
or distributing land are inferior to simple square fields ; 
on account of the greater facility of working the land in 
rectangular plots. But we suppose the owner of the small 
ornamental farm to be one with whom profit is not the 
first and only consideration, but who desires to unite 
with it something to gratify his taste, and to give a higher 
charm to his rural occupations. In Fig. 27, is shown part 
of an embellished farm, treated in the picturesque style 
throughout. The various trees, under grass or tillage, are 
divided and bounded by winding roads, a, bordered by 
iiedges of buckthorn, cedar, and hawthorn, instead of 
wooden fences ; the roads being wide enough to afford 
a pleasant drive or walk, so as to allow the owner or 
visitor to enjoy at the same time an agreeable circuit, and 
a glance at all the various crops and modes of culture. 
In the plan before us, the approach from the public rorid 
is at h : the dwellino; at c ; the barns and farm-buildings 
at d; the kitchen garden at e; and the orchard at f. 
About the house are distributed some groups of trees, and 
here the fields, g, are kept in grass, and are either mown 



120 



LANDSCAPK GARDENING. 




View of a Picturesque farm {ferme ornee).] 

or pastured. The fields in crops are designated h, on the 
plan ; and a few picturesque groups of trees are planted, 
or allowed to remain, in these, to keep up the general 
character of the place. A low dell, or rocky thicket, is 
situated at i,. Exceedingly interesting and agreeable 
effects may be produced, at little cost, in a picturesque 
farm of this kind. The hedges may be of a great variety 
of suitable shrubs, and, in addition to those that we have 
named, we would introduce others of the sweet brier, the 
-Michigan or prairie rose (admirably adapted for the 
purpose), the flowering crab, and the like — ^beautiful and 
fragrant in their growth and blossoms. These hedges we 
would cause to grow thick, rather by interlacing the 
branches, than by constant shearing or trimming, which 
Avould give them a less formal, and a more free and 
natural air. The winding; lanes traversing; the farm need 



ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 121 

only be gravelled near the house, in other portions being 
left in grass, which will need little care, as it will generally 
be kept short enough by the passing of men and vehicles 
over it. 

A picturesque or ornamental farm like this would be an 
agreeable residence for a gentleman retiring into the coun- 
try on a small farm, desirous of experimenting for himself 
with all the new modes of culture. The small and irregu- 
lar fields would, to him, be rather an advantage, and there 
would be an air of novelty and interest about the whole 
residence. Such an arrangement as this would also be 
suitable for a I'ruit farm near one of our large towns, the 
fields being occupied by orchards, vines, grass, and grain. 
The house and all the buildings should be of a simple, 
though picturesque and accordant character. 

The cottage oi'iiee may have more or less ground attached 
to it. It is the ambition of some to have a great house and 
little land, and of others (among whom we remember the 
poet Cowley) to have a little house and a large garden. 
The latter would seem to be the more natural taste. When 
the grounds of a cottage are large, they will be treated by 
the landscape gardener nearly like those of a villa residence ; 
when they are smaller a more quiet and simple character 
must be aimed at. But even where they consist of only 
a rood or two, something tasteful and pretty may be ar- 
ranged.* In Fig. 28, is shown a small piece of ground on 
one side of a cottage, in which a picturesque character is 
attempted to be maintained. The plantations here are 
made mostly with shrubs instead of trees, the latter being 



* For a variety of modes of treating the grounds of small places, see our 
Designs for Cottage Kesidences. 



122 



LANDSCAPE GAKDENING. 



only sparingly introduced for tho want of room. In the 
disposition of these shrubs, however, the same attention to 
picturesque effect is paid as we have already pointed out 
in our remarks on grouping ; and by connecting the thickets 
and groups here and there, so as to conceal one walk fron-i 
the other, a surprising variety and effect will frequently be 
produced in an exceedingly limited spot. 

^^1^-^C^I'©^ The same limited grounds 

' ' might be planted so as to produce 

'i^ the Beautiful ; choosing, in this 

case, shrubs of symmetrical 

growth and fine forms, planting 

and grouping them somewhat 

^^ singly, and allowing every speci- 

^'* men to attain its fullest luxuri- 

^"^ ance of development. 

In making these arrangements, 
[ng 8 oi uni (I icctti^e < ] evcu in the Small area of a fourtli 
of an acre, we should study the same principles and en- 
deavor to produce the same harmony of effects, as if we 
were improving a mansion residence o^'the first class. The 
extent of the operations, and the sums lavished, are not by 
any means necessarily connected with successful and 
pleasing results. The man of correct taste will, by the aid 
of vei'y limited means and upon a small surface, be able 
to afford the mind more true pleasure, than the improver 
who lavishes thousands without it, creating no other emo- 
tion than surprise or pity at the useless expenditure in- 
curred ; and the Abbe Delille says nothing more true than 
that, 




" Ce noble emploi demand un artiste qui pense, 
Prodigue de genie, et non pas de depense." 



0\ WOOD AN'D PLANTATION'S. 123 

From the inspection of plans like these, the tyro may 
learn something of the manner of arranging plantations, 
and of the general effect of the natural style in particular 
cases and situations. But the knowledge they afford Is so 
far below that obtained by an inspection of the effects in 
reality, that the latter should in all cases be preferred 
where it is practicable. In this style, unlike the ancient, 
it is almost impossible that the same plan should exactly 
suit any other situation than that for which it was intended, 
for its great excellence lies in the endless variety produced 
by its application to different sites, situations, and surfaces ; 
developing the latent capacities of one place and heighten- 
ing the charms of another. 

But the leading principles as regards the formation of 
])lantations, which we have here endeavored briefly to 
elucidate, are the same in all cases. After becoming 
familiar with these, should the amateur landscape gardener 
be at a loss how to proceed, he can hardly do better, as we 
have before suggested, than to study and recur often to the 
beautiful compositions and combinations of nature, dis- 
played in her majestic groups, masses, and single trees, as 
well as open glades and deep thickets ; of which, fortu- 
nately, in most parts of our country, checkered here and 
there as it is with beautiful and picturesque scenery, there 
is no dearth or scarcity. Keeping these few principles in 
his mind, he will be able to detect new beauties and trans- 
fer them to his own estate ; for nature is truly inexhaustible 
in her resources of the Beautii'ul. 

Classification ov tree.s as to expression. The 
amateur who wishes to dispose his plantations in the natu- 
ral style of Landscape Gardening so as to produce graceful 
«r picturesque landscape, will be greatly aided by a study 



124 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

of the peculiar expression of trees individually and in com- 
position. The effect of a certain tree singly is often ex- 
ceedingly different from that of a group of the same trees. 
To be fully aware of the effect of groups and masses 
requires considerable study, and the progress in this study 
may be greatly facilitated by a recurrence from groups in 
nature to groups in pictures. 

As a further aid to this most desirable species of infor- 
mation we shall offer a few remarks on the principal vari- 
eties of character afforded by trees in composition. 

Almost all trees, with relation to forms, may be divided 
into three kinds, viz. round-headed trees, oblong or 'pyra- 
midal trees, and spiry -topped trees ; and so far as the 
expressions of the different species comprised in these dis- 
tinct classes are concerned, they are, especially when 
Adewed at a distance (as much of the wood seen in a 
prospect of any extent necessarily must be), productive of 
nearly the same general efiects. 

Round-headed trees compose by far the largest of these 
divisions. The term includes all those trees which have 

*1^3 ,5^. an irregular surface in their boughs, more or 
f;:£^^g|.^ less varied in outline, but exhibiting in the 
'"^^'eaded Trees'^ wholc a top or head Comparatively round ; 
as the oak, ash, beech, and walnut. They are generally 
beautiful when young, from their smoothness, and the ele- 
gance of their forms ; but often grow picturesque when 
age and time have had an opportunity to produce their 
wonted effects upon them. In general, however, the dif- 
ferent round-headed trees may be considered as the most 
appropriate for introduction in highly-cultivated scenery, 
or landscapes where the character is that of graceful or 
polished beauty ; as they harmonize \vith almost all scenes, 



ON WOOD AND II.ANTATIONS. 125 

buildings, and natural or artificial objects, uniting well witb 
other forms and doing violence to no expression of scenery. 
From the numerous breaks in the surface of their foliage, 
which reflect differently the lights and produce deep 
s^hadows, there is great intricacy and variety in the heads 
of many round-topped trees ; and therefore, as an outer 
surface to meet the eye in a plantation, they are much 
softer and more pleasing than the unbroken line exhibited 
by the sides of oblong or spiry-topped trees. The sky 
outline also, or the upper part of the head, varies greatly 
in round-topped trees from the irregularity in the dispo- 
sition of the upper branches in different species, as the 
oak and ash, or even between individual specimens of the 
same kind of tree, as the oak, of which we rarely see 
two trees alike in form and outline, although thev have 
the same characteristic expression ; while on the other 
hand no two verdant objects can bear a greater general 
resemblance to each other and show more sameness ol 
figure than two Lombardy poplars. 

" In a tree," savs Uvedale Price, " of which the foliasre 
is everywhere full and unbroken, there can be but little 
variety of form ; then, as the sun strikes only on the 
surface, neither can there be much variety of light and 
shade ; and as the apparent color of objects changes 
according to the different degrees of light or shade in 
Avhich they are placed, there can be as little variety of 
tint ; and lastly, as there are none of these openings that 
excite and nourish curiosity, but the eye is everywhere 
opposed by one uniform leafy screen, there can be as 
little intricacy as variety." From these remarks, it will 
be perceived that even among round-headed trees there 
may be great difference in the comparative beauty of 



126 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

different sorts ; and judging from the excellent standard 
here laid down, it will also be seen how much in the eye 
of a painter a tree with a beautifully diversified surface, 
as the oak, surpasses in the composition of a scene one 
with a very regular and compact surface and outline, as 
the horse-chestnut. In planting large masses of wood, 
therefore, or even in forming large groups in park scenery, 
round-headed trees of the ordinary loose and varied 
manner of growth common in the majority of forest trees, 
are greatly to be preferred to all others. When they 
cover large tracts, as several acres, they convey an 
emotion of grandeur to the mind ; when they form vast 
forests of thousands of acres, they produce a feeling of 
siihlimily ; in the landscape garden when they stand 
alone, or in fine groups, they are graceful or beautiful. 
While young they have an elegant appearance ; when old 
they generally become majestic or picturesque. Other 
trees may suit scenery or scenes of particular and 
decided characters, but round-headed trees are decidedly 
the chief adornment of general landscape. 

Spiry-topped trees (Fig. 30) are distinguished by 
straight leading stems and horizontal branches, which are 
comparatively small, and taper gradually 
to a point. The foliage is generally ever- 
green, and in most trees of this class 
[Fig. 30. sp^fy-topped j^^^^gg ^^ parallel or drooping tufts from 
the branches. The various evergreen trees, composing 
the spruce and fir families, most of the pines, the cedar, 
and among deciduous trees, the larch, belong to this 
division. Their hue is generally much darker than that 
of deciduous trees, and there is a strong similarity, or 




ON WOOD AND PI.AXTATIONS. 127 

almost sameness, in the ditTerent kinds of trees which 
may properly be called spiry-topped. 

From their sameness of form and surface this class 
of trees, when planted in large tracts or masses, gives 
much less pleasure than round-headed trees ; and the eye 
is soon wearied with the monotony of appearanci? 
presented by long rows, groups, or masses, of the same 
form, outline, and appearance; to say nothing of the effect 
of the uniform dark color, unrelieved by the warmer tints 
of deciduous trees. Any one can bear testimony to this, 
who has travelled through a pine, hemlock, or fir forest, 
where he could not fail to be struck with its gloom, 
tediousness, and monotony, especially when contrasted 
with the variety and beauty in a natural wood of 
deciduous, round-headed trees. 

Although spiry-topped trees in large masses cannot be 
generally admired for ornamental plantations, yet they 
have a character of their own, which is v^ery striking and 
peculiar, and we may add, in a high degree valuable to 
the Landscape Gardener. Their general expression when 
single or scattered is extremely spirited, wild, and 
picturesque ; and when judiciously introduced into 
artificial scenery, they produce the most charming and 
unique effects. " The situations where they have most 
effect is among rocks and in very irregular surfaces,. and 
especially on the steep sides of high mountains, where their 
forms and the direction of their growth seem to harmonize 
with the pointed rocky summits." Fir and pine forests are 
extremely dull and monotonous in sandy plains and 
smooth surfaces (as in the pine ban*ens of the southern 
states) ; but among the broken rocks, craggy precipices, 



128 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

and otherwise endlessly varied surfaces (as in the Alps, 
abroad, and the various rocky heights in the Highlands 
of the Hudson and the Alleghanies, at home) they are 
full of variety. It v/ill readily be seen, therefore, that 
spiry-topped trees should always be planted in considerable 
quantities in wild, broken, and picturesque scenes, where 
they will appear ];)erfectly in keeping, and add wonderfully 
to the peculiar beauty of the situation. In all grounds 
where there are abruptly varied surfaces, steep banks, or 
rocky precipices, this class of trees lends its efficient aid 
to strengthen the prpvailing beauty, and to complete the 
finish of the picture. In smooth, level surfaces, though 
spiry-topped trees cannot be thus extensively employed, 
they are by no means to be neglected or thought valueless, 
but may be so combined and mingled with other round- 
headed and oblong-headed trees, as to produce A'ery rich 
and pleasing effects. A tall larch or two, or a few spruces 
rising out of the centre of a group, give it life and spirit, 
and add greatly, both by contrast of form and color, to the 
force of round-headed trees. A stately and regular white 
pine or hemlock, or a few thin groups of the same trees 
peeping out from amidst, or bordering a lai'ge m.ass of 
deciduous trees, have great power in adding to the interest 
which the same awakens in the mind of the spectator. 
Care must be taken, however, that the very spirited effect 
which is here aimed at, is not itself defeated by the over 
anxiety of the planter, who, in scattering too profusely 
these very strongly marked trees, makes them at last so 
plentiful, as to give the whole a mingled and confused 
look, in which neither the graceful and sweeping outlines 
of the round-headed nor the picturesque summits of the 
spiry-topped trees predominate ; as the former decidedly 




ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 129 

should, in all scenes where an expression of peculiarly 
irregular kind is not aimed at. 

The larch, to which we shall hereafter recur at some 
length, may be considered one of the most picturesque 
trees of this division ; and being more rapid in its growth 
than most evergreens, it may be used as a substitute for, 
or in conjunction with them, where effect is speedily 
desired. 

Oblong-headed trees show heads of foliage more length- 
ened out, more formal, and generally more tapering, than 
round-headed ones. They differ from spiry- 
topped trees in having upright branches instead 
of horizontal ones, and in forming a conical or 
''heacfed uees"f pyramidal mass of foliage, instead of a spiry, 
tufted one. They are mostly deciduous ; and approaching 
more nearly to round-headed trees than spiry-topped ones 
do, they may perhaps be more frequently introduced. 
The Lombardy poplar may be considered the representa- 
tive of this division, as the oak is of the first, and the 
larch and fir of the second. Abroad, the oriental cypress, 
an evergreen, is used to produce similar effects in 
scenery. 

The great use of the Lombardy poplar, and other 
similar trees in composition, is to relieve or break into 
groups, large masses of wood. This it does very 
effectually, when its tall summit rises at intervals from 
among round-headed trees, forming pyramidal centres 
to groups where there was only a swelling and flowing 
outline. Formal rows, or groups of oblong-headed trees, 
however, are tiresome and monotonous to the last degree : 
a straight line of them being scarcely better in appearance 
than a tall, stiff', gigantic hedge. Examples of this can be 

9 



130 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

easily found in many parts of the Union where the crude 
and formal taste of proprietors, by leading them to plant 
long lines of Lombardy poplars, has had the effect of 
destroying the beauty of many a fine prospect and 
building. 

Conical or oblong-headed trees, when carefully employed, 
are very effective for purposes of contrast, in conjunction 
with horizontal lines of buildings such as we see in 
Grecian or Italian architecture. Near such edifices, 
sparingly introduced, and mingled in small proportion 
with round-headed trees, they contrast advantageously 
with the long cornices, flat roofs, and horizontal lines that 
predominate in their exteriors. Lombardy poplars are 
often thus introduced in pictures of Italian scenery, where 
they sometimes break the formality of a long line of wall 
in the happiest manner. Nevertheless, if they should be 
indiscriminately employed, or even used in any con- 
siderable portion in the decoration of the ground 
immediately adjoining a building of any pretensions, 
they would inevitably defeat this purpose, and by their 
tall and formal growth diminish the apparent magnitude, 
as well as the elegance of the house. 

Drooping trees, though often classed with oblong- 
headed trees, differ from them in so many particulars, 
that they deserve to be ranked under a separate head. 
To this class belong the weeping willow, the weeping 
birch, the drooping elm, etc. Their prominent charac- 
teristics are gracefulness and elegance ; and we consider 
them as unfit, therefore, to be employed to any extent 
in scenes where it is desirable to keep up the expression 
of a wild or highly picturesque character. As single 
objects, or tastefully grouped in beautiful landscape, they 



ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 131 

are in excellent keeping, and contribute much to give 
value to the leading expression. 

When drooping trees are mixed indiscriminately with 
other round-headed trees in the composition of groups 
or masses, much of their individual character is lost, as 
it depends not so much on the top (as in oblong and 
spiry trees) as upon the side branches, which are of 
course concealed by those of the adjoining trees. Droop- 
ing trees, therefore, as elms, birches, etc., are shown to 
the best advantage on the borders of groups or the 
boundaries of plantations. It must not be forgotten, but 
constantly kept in mind, that all strongly marked trees, 
like bright colors in pictures, only admit of occasional 
employment ; and that the very object aimed at in 
introducing them will be defeated if they are brought 
into the lawn and park in masses, and distributed 
heedlessly on every side. An English author very justly 
remarks, therefore, that the poplar, the willow, and the 
drooping birch, are " most dangerous trees in the hands 
of a planter who has not considerable knowledge and 
good taste in the composition of a landscape." Some of 
them, as the native elm, from their abounding in oui 
own woods, may appear oftener ; while others which 
have a peculiar and exotic look, as the weeping willow, 
should only be seen in situations where they either do 
not disturb the prevailing expression, or (which is better) 
where they are evidently in good keeping. " The weeping 
willow," says Gilpin, with his usual good taste, " is not 
adapted to sublime objects. We wish it not to screen 
the broken buttress and Gothic windows of an abbey, 
or to overshadow the battlements of a ruined castle. 
These offices it resigns to the oak, whose dignity can 



132 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



support them. The weeping willow seeks an humble 
scene — some romantic footpath bridge, which it half 
conceals, or some grassy pool over which it hangs its 
streaming foliage, 

' And dips 




[Fig. 32. Trees in keeping.] 



Its pendent boughs, as if to drink.' "' * 

The manner in which a picturesque bit of landscape 
can be supported by picturesque spiry-topped trees, and 
its expression degraded by the injudicious employment 
of graceful drooping trees, will be apparent to the reader 
in the two accompanying little sketches. In the first (Fig. 
32), the abrupt hill, the rapid 
mountain torrent, and the distant 
Alpine summits, are in fine keep- 
ing with the tall spiry larches and 
firs, which, shooting up on either 
side of the old bridge, occupy the foreground. In the 
second (Fig. 33), there is evidently something discordant 
in the scene which strikes the spectator at first sight ; this 
is the misplaced introduction of the large willows, which 
, .^ , ..^ belong to a scene very different 
in character. Imagine a removal 
of the surrounding hills, ard let 
the rapid stream spread put into a 
[Fi;. 3.^. Trees out of keeping.] smooth peaceful lake with gradu- 
ally retiring shores, and the blue summits in the distance, 
and then the willows will harmonize admirably. 

Having now described the peculiar characteristics of 
these different classes of round-headed, spiry-topped, 
oblong, and drooping trees, we should consider the proper 

* Forest Scenery, p. 133. 




ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 188 

method by which a harmonious combination of the 
different forms composing them may be made so as not 
to violate correct principles of taste. An indiscriminate 
mixture of their different forms would, it is evident, 
produce anything but an agreeable effect. For example, 
let a person plant together in a group, three trees of 
totally opposite forms and expressions, viz. a weeping 
willow, an oak, and a poplar ; and the expression of the 
whole would be destroyed by the confusion resulting 
from their discordant forms. On the other hand, the 
mixture of trees that exactly correspond in their forms, if 
these forms, as in oblong or drooping trees, are similar, 
will infallibly create sameness. In order then to produce 
beautiful variety which shall neither on the one side run 
into confusion, nor on the other verge into monotony, it 
is requisite to give some little attention to the harmony 
of form and color in the composition of trees in artificial 
plantations. 

The only rules which we can suggest to govern the 
planter are these : First, if a certain leading expression is 
desired in a group of trees, together with as great a variety 
as possible, such species must be chosen as harmonize with 
each other in certain leading points. And, secondly, in 
occasionally intermingling trees of opposite characters, 
discordance may be prevented, and harmonious expression 
promoted, by interposing other trees of an intermediate 
character. 

In the first case, suppose it is desired to form a group 
of trees, in which gracefulness must be the leading 
expression. The willow alone would have the effect ; but 
in groups, willows alone produce sameness : in order, 
therefore, to give variety, we must choose other trees 



134 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

which, while they differ from the willow in some 
particulars, agree in others. The elm has much larger 
and darker foliage, while it has also a drooping spray ; the 
weeping birch differs in its leaves, but agrees in the pensile 
flow of its branches ; the common birch has few pendent 
boughs, but resembles in the airy lightness of its leaves ; 
and the three-thorned acacia, though its branches are 
horizontal, has delicate foliage of nearly the same hue and 
floating lightness as the willow. Here we have a group 
of five trees, which is, in the whole, full of gracefulness 
and variety, while there is nothing in the composition 
inharmonious to the practised eye. 

To illustrate the second case, let us suppose a long 
sweeping outline of maples, birches, and other light, 
mellow-colored trees, which the improver wishes to vary 
and break into groups, by spiry-topped, evergreen trees. 
It is evident, that if these trees were planted in such a 
manner as to peer abruptly out of the light-colored foliage 
of the former trees, in dark or almost black masses of 
tapering verdure, the effect would be by no means so 
satisfactory and pleasing, as if there were a partial 
transition from the mellow, pale green of the maples, etc., 
to the darker hues of the oak, ash, or beech, and finally 
the sombre tint of the evergreens. Thus much for the 
coloring; and if, in addition to this, oblong-headed trees 
or pyramidal trees were also placed near and partly 
intermingled with the spiry-topped ones, the unity of the 
whole composition would be still more complete.* 

* We are persuaded that very few persons are aware of the beauty, varied 
and endless, that may be produced by arranging trees with regard to their 
coloring. It requires the eye and genius of a Claude or a Poussin, to 
develope all these hidden beauties of harmonious combination. Gilpin rightly 



ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 



135 



Contrasts, again, are often admissible in woody scenery ; 
and we would not wish to lose many of our most superb 
trees, because they could not be introduced in particular 
portions of landscape. Contrasts in trees may be so 
violent as to be displeasing ; as in the example of the 
groups of the three trees, the willow, poplar, and oak : 
or they may be such as to produce spirited and pleasing 
effects. This must be effected by planting the different 
divisions of trees, first, in small leading groups, and then 
by effecting a union between the groups of different 
character, by intermingling those of the nearest similarity 
into and near the groups : in this way, by easy transitions 
from the drooping to the round-headed, and from these to 
the tapering trees, the whole of the foliage and forms 
harmonize well. 




I Fig. 31. Example in grouping.] 



" Trees," observes Mr. Whately, in his elegant treatise 
on this subject, " which differ in but one of these 
circumstances, of shape, green, or growth, though they 
agree in every other, are sufficiently distinguished for the 



says, in speaking of the dark Scotch fir, " with regard to color in general, I 
think I speak the language of painting, when I assert that the picturesque eye 
makes little distinction in this matter. It has no attachment to one color in 
preference to another, but considers the beauty of all coloring as resulting, not 
from the colors themselves, but almost entirely from their harmony with other 
colors in their neighborhood. So that as the Scotch fir tree is combined or 
stationed, it forms a beautiful umbrage or a murky spot." 



136 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

purpose of variety ; if they differ in two or three, they 
become contrasts : if in all, they are opposite, and seldom 
group well together. Those, on the contrary, which are 
of one character, and are distinguished only as the 
characteristic mark is strongly or faintly impressed upon 
them, form a beautiful mass, and unity is preserved 
without sameness."* 

There is another circumstance connected with the 
color of trees, that will doubtless suggest itself to the 
improver of taste, the knowledge of which may sometimes 
be turned to valuable account. We mean the effects 
produced in the apparent coloring of a landscape by 
distance, which painters term aerial perspective. Stand- 
ing at a certain position in a scene, the coloring is deep, 
rich, and full in the foreground, more tender and mellow 
in the middle-ground, and softening to a pale tint in the 
distance. 

" Where to the eye three well marked distances 
Spread their peculiar coloring, vivid green. 
Warm brown, and black opake the foreground bears 
Conspicuous : sober olive coldly marks 
The second distance ; thence the third declmes 
In softer blue, or lessening still, is lost 
In fainted purple. When thy taste is call'd 
To deck a scene where nature's self presents 
All these distinct gradations, then rejoice 
As does the Painter, and like hira apply 
Thy colors ; plant thou on each separate part 
Its proper foliage." 

Advantage may occasionally be taken of this peculiarity 
in the gradation of color, in Landscape Gardening, by the 
creation, as it were, of an artificial distance. In grounds 

* Observations on Modem Gardening. 



ON WOOD AND PLANTATIONS. 137 

and scenes of limited extent, the apparent size and 
breadth may be increased, by planting a majority of the 
trees in the foreground, of dark tints, and the boundary 
with foliage of a much lighter hue. In the same way, the 
apparent breadth of a piece of water will be greatly added 
to, by placing the paler colored trees on the shore 
opposite to the spectator. These hints will suggest other 
ideas and examples of a similar nature, to the minds 
of those who are alive to the more minute and exquisite 
beauties of the landscape. 

An acquaintance, individually, with the different 
species of trees of indigenous and foreign growth, which 
may be cultivated with success in this climate, is 
absolutely essential to the amateur or the professor of 
Landscape Gardening. The tardiness or rapidity of their 
growth, the periods at which their leaves and flowers 
expand, the soils they love best, and their various habits 
and characters, are all subjects of the highest interest to 
him. In short, as a love of the country almost commences 
with a knowledge of its peculiar characteristics, the pure 
air, the fresh enamelled turf, and the luxuriance and 
beauty of the whole landscape ; so the taste for the 
embellishment of Rural Residences must grow out of an 
admiration for beautiful trees, and the delightful effects 
they are capable of producing in the hands of persons of 
taste and lovers of nature. 

Admitting this, we think, in the comparatively meagre 
state of general information on this subject among us, we 
shall render an acceptable service to the novice, by giving 
a somewhat detailed description of the character and 
habits of most of the finest hardy forest and ornamental 
trees. Among those living in the country, there are 



138 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

many who care little for the beauties of Landscape 
Gardening, who are yet interested in those trees which 
are remarkable for the beauty of their forms, their foliage, 
their blossoms, or their useful purposes. This, we hope, 
will be a sufficient explanation for the apparently 
disproportionate number of pages which we shall devote 
to this part of our subject. 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 139 



SECTION IV. 

DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 
The History and Description of nil the finest hardy Deciduous Trees. Remarks ok 

THKIR KFTKCTS IN LANDSCAPE OARDENINO, INDIVIDUALLY AND IN COMPOSITION. Their 

Cultivation, etc. The Oak. The Elm. The Ash. The Linden. The Beech. The 
Poplar. The Horse-chestnut. The Birch. The Alder. The Maple. The Locust. 
The Three-thorned .\cacia. The Jud.as-tree. The Chostnut. The Osage Orange. 
The Mulberry. The Paper Mulberry. The Sweet Gum. The Walnut. The Hickory 
The Mountain Ash. The Ailantus. The Kentucky Coffee. The Willow. The 
Sassafras. The Cat;ilpa. The Persiinon. The Pepperidge. The Thorn. The 
Magnolia. The Tulip. The Dogwood. The Salisburia. The Paulonia. The Virgilia. 
The Cypress. The Larch, etc. 

O gloriosi spiriti de gli boschi, 

Eco, o antri fo?chi, o chiare linfe, 

O faretrate ninfe, o agresti Pani, 

Satiri e Silvani, o Fauni e Driadi, ' 

Naiadi ed Amadriadi, o Semidee 

Oreadi e Napce. — 

Sannazzaro. 

" spirits of the woods, 

Echoes and solitudes, and lakes of light ; 

O quivered virgins bright. Pan's rustical 

Satyrs and sylvans all, dryads and ye : 

That up the mountains be ; and ye beneath 

In meadow or in flowery heath." 

The Oak. Queixus. 

Nat. Ord. Corylaceae. Lin. Syst. Monoecia, Polyandria. 

,-S^-^^^ fl^ H E Arcadians believed the oak to have 
ilJ* been the first created of all trees; and 
when we consider its great and surpassing 
utility and beauty, we are fully disposed 
to concede it the first rank among the denizens of the 




140 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

forest. Springing up with a noble trunk, and stretching 
out its broad limbs over the soil, 

" These monarchs of the wood, 
Dark, gnarled, centennial oaks," 

seem proudly to bid defiance to time ; and while generations 
of man appear and disappear, they withstand the storms of 
a thousand winters, and seem only to grow more venerable 
and majestic. They are mentioned in the oldest histories ; 
we are told that Absalom was caught by his hair in " the 
thick boughs of a great oak ;" and Herodotus informs us 
that the first oracle was that of Dodona, set up in the 
celebrated oak grove of that name. There, at first, the 
oracles were delivered by the priestesses, but, as was after- 
wards believed, by the inspired oaks themselves — 

" Which in Dodona did enshrine, 
So faith too fondly deemed, a voice divine." 

Acorns, the fruit of the oak, appear to have been held in 
considerable estimation as an article of food among the 
ancients. Not only were the swine fattened upon them, as 
in our own forests, but they were ground into flour, with 
which bread was made by the poorer classes. Lucretius 
mentions, that before grain was known they were the com- 
mon food of man ; but we suppose the fruit of the chestnut 
may also have been included under that term. 

" That oake whose acomes were our foode before 
The Cerese seede of mortal man was knowne." 

Spenser. 

The civic crown, given in the palmy days of Rome to 
the most celebrated men, was also composed of oak leaves. 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREE3. 141 

It should not be forgotten that the oak was worshipped 
by the ancient Britons. Baal or Yiaoul (whence Yule) 
was the god of fire, whose symbol was an oak. Hence at 
his festival, which was at Christmas, the ceremony of kin- 
dling the Yule log was performed among the ancient Druids. 
This fire was kept perpetual throughout the year, and the 
hearths of all the people were annually lighted from these 
sacred fires every Christmas. We believe the curious 
custom is still e.Ktant in some remote parts of England, 
where the " Yule log" is ushered in with much glee and 
rejoicing once a year. 

As an ornamental object we consider the oak the most 
varied in expression, the most beautiful, grand, majestic, 
and picturesque of all deciduous trees. The enormous 
size and extreme old age to which it attains in a favorable 
situation, the great space of ground that it covers with its 
branches, and the strength and hardihood of the tree, all 
contribute to stamp it with the character of dignity and 
grandeur beyond any other compeer of the forest. When 
young its fine foliage (singularly varied in many of our 
native species) and its thrifty form render it a beautiful 
tree. But it is not until the oak has attained considerable 
size that it displays its true character, and only when at an 
age that would terminate the existence of most other trees 
that it exhibits all its magnificence. Then its deeply fur- 
rowed trunk is covered with mosses ; its huge branches, 
each a tree, spreading out horizontally from the trunk with 
great boldness, its trunk of huge dimension, and its " high 
top, bald with dry antiquity ;" all these, its true character- 
istics, stamp the oak, as Virgil has expressed it in his 
Georgics — 



142 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

" Jove's own tree, 
That holds the woods in awful sovereignty ; 
For length of ages lasts his happy reign, 
And lives of mortal man contend in vain. 
Full in the midst of his own strength he stands. 
Stretching his brawny arms and leafy hands, 
His shade protects the plains, his head the hills commands." 

Dryden's Trans. 

" The oak," says Gilpin, " is confessedly the most pictu- 
resque tree in itself, and the most accommodating in com- 
position. It refuses no subject either in natural or in 
artificial landscape. It is suited to the grandest, and may 
with propriety be introduced into the most pastoral. It 
adds new dignity to the ruined tower and the Gothic arch ; 
and by stretching its wild, moss-grown branches athwart 
their ivied walls, it gives them a kind of majesty coeval 
with itself; at the same time its propriety is still preserved 
if it throws its arms over the purling brook or the mantling 
pool, where it beholds 

" Its reverend image in the expanse below." 

Milton introduces it happily even in the lowest scene — 

" Hard by a cottage chimney smokes, 
From between two aged oaks." 

The oak is not only one of the grandest and most pictu- 
resque objects as a single tree upon a lawn, but it is equally 
unrivalled for groups and masses. There is a breadth about 
the lights and shadows reflected and embosomed in its 
foliage, a singular freedom and boldness in its outline, and 
a pleasing richness and intricacy in its huge ramification 
of branch and limb, that render it highly adapted to these 
purposes. Some trees, as the willow or the spiry poplar, 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL. TREES. 



143 



though pleasing singly, are monotonous to the last degree 
when planted in quantities. Not so, however, with the 
oak, as there is no tree, when forming a wood entirely by 
itself, which affords so great a variety of form and dispo- 
sition, light and shade, symmetry and irregularity, as this 
king of the forests. 

To arrive at its highest perfection, ample space on every 
side must be allowed the oak. A free exposure to the sun 
and air, and a deep mellow soil, are highly necessary to its 
fullest amplitude. For this reason, the oaks of our forests, 




[Fig. 35. The Charter Oiik, Hartford.] 

being thickly crowded, are seldom of extraordinary size ; 
and there are more truly majestic oaks in the parks of 
England than are to be found in the whole cultivated por- 
tion of the United States. Here and there, however, 
throughout our country may be seen a solitary oak of great 



144 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

age and immense size, which attests the fitness of the soil 
and cHmate, and disphiys the grandeur of our native species. 
The Wads worth Oak near Geneseo, N. Y., of extraordinary 
dimensions, the product of one of our most fertile valleys, 
has attracted the admiration of hundreds of travellers on 
the route to Niagara. Its trunk measures thirty-six feet in 
circumference. The celebrated Charter Oak at Hartford, 
which has figured so conspicuously in the history of New 
England, is still existing in a green old age, one of the most 
interesting monuments of the past to be found in the 
country.* 

Near the village of Flushing, Long Island, on the farm 
of Judge Lawrence, is growing one of the noblest oaks in 
the country. It is truly park-like in its dimensions, the 
circumference of the trunk being nearly thirty feet, and its 
majestic head of corresponding dignity. In the deep 
alluvial soil of the western valleys, the oak often assumes 
a grand aspect, and bears witness to the wonderful fertility 
of the soil in that region. f 

* The house seen hi the engraving rcpresent.B the old " Wyllis House." 
This family, its former occupants, furnished the Secretary of State for Con- 
necticut for more than a century. Near the Charter Oak are some of the 
apple trees planted hy the Pilgrims, evidently Pearmains. Some of these, 
lately felled, have been examined, and are found to be more than 200 years 
old. 

t The following well authenticated description of a famous English oak, is 
worth a record here. " Close by the gate of the water walk of Magdalen 
College, O.xford, grew an oak which perhaps stood there a sapling when Alfred 
the Great founded the Univer.-^ity. This period only includes a space of 900 
years, which is no great age for an oak. About 500 years after the time of 
Alfred, Dr. Stukely tells us, William of Waynefleet e.xpressly ordered his college 
(Magdalen College) to be founded near the Great Oak ; and an oak could not, 
I think, be less than 500 years of age to merit that title, together with the 
honor of fi.xing the site of a college. When the magnificence of Cardinal 
Wolsey erected that handsome tower which is so ornamental to the whole 



DECIDUOU3 ORNAMENTAL TREES. 145 

As beauty is often closely connected in our minds with 
utility, we must be allowed a word on the great value of 
this tree. For its useful properties the oak has scarcely 
any superior. " To enumerate," says old Evelyn in hi.s 
quaint Sylva, " the incomparable uses of this wood were 
needless ; but so precious was the esteem of it of old, there 
was an express law among the Twelve Tables concerning 
the very gathering of the acorns, though they should be 
found fallen on another man's ground. The land and the 
sea do sufficiently speak for the improvement of this excel- 
lent material, for houses and ships, cities and navies, are 
builded with it." In almost all the finest buildings of 

building, this tree might probably be in the meridian of its glory. It was 
afterwards much injured in the reign of Charles II., when the present walks 
were laid out. Its roots were disturbed, and from that time it declined fast 
.".nd became a mere trunk. The oldest members of the University can hardly 
rcoollcct it in better plight ; but the faithful records of history have handed 
down its ancient dimensions. Through a space of IG yards on every side it 
once flung its branches ; and under its magnificent pavilion could have shel- 
tered with ease 3,000 men. In the summer of 1778 this magnificent ruin fell 
to the ground. From a part of its ruins a chair has been made for the Presi- 
dent of the College, which will long continue its memoiy." — Gilpin's Forest 
Scenery. 

The King Oak, Windsor Forest, once the favorite tree of William the Con- 
queror, is now more than 1,000 years old, and the interior of the trunk is quite 
hollow. Professor Burnet, who described it, lunched inside this tree witli a 
party, and says it is capable of accommodating ten or twelve persons com- 
fortably at dinner, sitting. 

The Beggar's Oak in Bagot's Park is twenty feet in girth five feet from the 
ground. The roots rise above the surface in a very extraordinary manner, so 
as to furnish a natural seat for the beggars chancing to pass along the pathway 
near it ; and the circumference taken there is C8 feet. The branches extend 
from the tree 48 feet in every direction. 

The Wallace Oak at Edenslee, near where Wallace was born, is a noble 
tree 21 feet in circumference. It is 67 feet high, and its branches extend 45 
feet east, 36 west, 30 south, and 25 north. Wallace and 300 of his men are 
said to have hid themselves from the English among the branches of this tree, 
wliich was then in full leaf. 

10 



146 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

Europe, particularly the vast Gothic edifices of the middle 
ages, oak was the chief material for the interior. The rich 
old wainscot, the innumerable carvings and decorations of 
those days were executed in this material. In America 
the vast pine forests produce a wood easily wrought, which 
has in a great measure superseded the use of this fine tim- 
ber, and the exportation of immense quantities of the 
former to the eastern continent, has even in some degree 
lessened its consumption abroad. But for certain purposes 
where great strength and durability are required, the oak 
will always take the precedence claimed for it by Evelyn.* 
The English oak is probably rather superior in these quali- 
ties to most of our American species ; but for ship-building 
the Live oak of the southern states is not exceeded by any 
timber in the world. 

Different species of Oak. This country is peculiarly 
rich in various kinds of oak ; Michaux enumerating no less 
than forty species indigenous to North America. Of these 
the most useful are the Live oak {Quercus virens), of such 
inestimable value for ship-building ; the Spanish oak (Q. 
falcata) ; the Red oak (Q. rubra), etc., the bark of which 
is extensively used in tanning ; the Quercitron or Black 
oak, which is highly valuable as affording a fine yellow or 
brown dye for wool, silks, paper-hangings, etc. ; and the 
White oak, which is chiefly used for timber. We shall 

* The doors of the inner chapels of Westminster, it is stated, are of the same 
age as the original building ; and as the original ancient edifice was founded 
in 611 they must consequently be more than 1,200 years old. Professor Bur- 
net, in his curious Ainenitates Qiiercincce, observes, that many of the stakes 
driven into the Thames by the Ancient Britons, to impede the progress of 
.Tulius Caesar, are in a good state of preservation, " having withstood the 
destroyer time nearly 2,000 years." 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 147 

here describe only a few of those which are most entitled 
to the consideration of the planter, either for their valuable 
properties or as ornamental trees, and calculated for plant- 
ing in woods or single masses. 

The White oak. (Quercus alba.) This is one of the most 
common of the American oaks, being very generally dis- 
tributed over the country, from Canada to the southern 
states. In good strong soils it forms a tree 70 or 80 feet 
high, with wide extending branches ; but its growth de- 
pends much upon this circumstance. It may readily be 
known even in winter by its whitish bark, and by the dry 
and withered leaves which often hang upon this species 
through the whole of that season. The leaves are about 
four inches wide and six in length, divided uniformly into 
rounded lobes without points ; these lobes are deeper in 
damp soils. When the leaves first unfold in the spring 
they are downy beneath, but when fully grown they are 
quite smooth, and pale green on the upper surface and 
whitish or glaucous below. The acorn is oval and the cup 
somewhat flattened at the base. This is the most valuable 
of all our native oaks, immense quantities of the timber 
being used for various purposes in building ; and staves of 
the white oak for barrels are in universal use throughout 
the Union. The great occasional size and fine form of this 
tree, in some natural situations, prove how noble an object 
it would become when allowed to expand in full vigor and 
majesty in the open air and light of the park. It more 
nearly approaches the English oak in appearance than any 
other American species. 

Rock Chestnut oak. (Q. Prhms Monticola.) This is 
one of the most ornamental of our oaks, and is found in 
considerable abundance in the middle states. It has the 



148 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

peculiar advantage of growing well on the most barren and 
rocky soils, and can therefore be advantageously employed 
by the landscape gardener, when a steep, dry, rocky bank is 
to be covered with trees. In deep, mellow soil, its growth 
is wonderfully vigorous, and it rapidly attains a height of 
50 or 60 feet, with a corresponding diameter. The head 
is rather more symmetrical in form and outline than most 
trees of this genus, and the stem, in free, open places, shoots 
up into a lofty trunk. The leaves are five or six inches 
long, three or four broad, oval and unifonnly denticulated, 
with the teeth more regular but less acute than the Chest- 
nut white oak. When beginning to open in the spring 
they are covered with a thick down ; but when fully ex- 
panded they are perfectly smooth and of a dehcate texture. 
Michaux. 

Chestnut White oak. (Qjiercus Prinus palustris.) 
This species much resembles the last, but differs in 
having longer leaves, which are obovate, and deeply 
toothed. It is sparingly found in the northern states, and 
attains its gi'eatest altitude in the south, where it is often 
seen 90 feet in height. Though generally found in the 
neighborhood of swamps and low grounds, it grows with 
wonderful rapidity in a good, moderately dry soil, and 
from the beauty of its fine spreading head, and the 
quickness of its growth, is highly deserving of introduction 
into our plantations. 

The Yellow oak. (Q. Prinus acuminata.) The 
Yellow oak may be found scattered through our woods 
over nearly the whole of the Union. Its leaves are 
lanceolate, and regularly toothed, light gi'een above, and 
whitish beneath ; the acorns small. It forms a stately 
tree, 70 feet high ; and the branches are more upright in 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 149 

iheir growth, and more clustering, as it were, round the 
central trunk, than other species. The beauty of its long 
pointed leaves, and their peculiar mode of growth, 
recommend it to mingle with other trees, to which it 
will add variety. 

The Pin oak. (Q. palustris.) The Pin oak forms a 
tree in moist situations, varying in height from 60 to 80 
feet The great number of small branches intermingled 
with the large ones, have given rise to the name of this 
variety. It is a hardy, free growing species, particularly 
upon moist soils. Loudon considers it, from its " far 
extending, drooping branches, and light and elegant 
foliage," among the most graceful of oaks. It is well 
adapted to small groups, and is one of the most thrifty 
growing and easily obtained of all our northern oaks. 

The Willow oak. (Q. Phellos.) This remarkable 
species of oak may be recognised at once by its narrow, 
entire leaves, shaped almost like those of the willow, and 
about the same size, though thicker in texture. It is not 
found wild north of the barrens of New Jersey, where it 
grows plentifully, but thrives well in cultivation much 
further north. The stem of this tree is remarkably smooth 
in every stage of its growth. It is so different in 
appearance and character from the other species of this 
genus, that in plantations it would never be recognised by 
a person not conversant with oaks, as one of the family. 
It deserves to be introduced into landscapes for its 
singularity as an oak, and its lightness and elegance of 
foliage individually. 

The Mossy-cup oak. (Q. olivcBformis.) This is so 
called because the scales of the cups terminate in a long, 
moss-like fringe, nearly covering the acorn. It is quite a 



150 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

rare species, being only found on the upper banks of the 
Hudson, and on the Genesee river. The foliage is fine, 
large, and deeply cut, and the lower branches of the tree 
droop in a beautiful manner when it has attained some 
considerable size. Quercus macrocarpa, the Over-cup 
White oak, is another beautiful kind found in the western 
states, which a good deal resembles the Mossy-cup oak in 
the acorn. The foliage, however, is uncommonly fine, 
being the largest in size of any American species ; fifteen 
inches long, and eight broad. It is a noble tree, with fine 
deep green foliage ; and the gi-owth of a specimen planted 
in our grounds has been remarkably vigorous. 

Scarlet oak. {Quercus coccinea.) A native of the 
middle states ; a noble tree, often eighty feet high. The 
leaves, borne on long petioles, are a bright lively green on 
both surfaces, with four deep cuts on each side, widest at 
the bottom. The great and peculiar beauty of this tree, 
we conceive to be its property of assuming a deep scarlet 
tint in autumn. At that period it may, at a great 
distance, be distinguished from all other oaks, and indeed 
from every other forest tree. It is highly worthy of a 
place in every plantation. 

The Live oak. [Quercus virens.) This fine species 
will not thrive north of Virginia. Its imperishable timber 
is the most valuable in our forests ; and, at the south, it is 
a fine park tree, when cultivated, growing about 40 feet 
high, with, however, a rather wide and low head. The 
thick oval leaves are evergreen, and it is much to be 
regretted that this noble tree will not bear our northern 
winters. 

The English Royal oak. (Q. rohur.) This is the great 
representative of the family in Europe, and is one of the 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 151 

most magnificent of the genus, growing often in the fin? 
old woods and parks of England, to eighty and one 
hundred feet in height. The branches spread over a 
great surface. " The leaves are petiolated, smooth, and 
of a uniform color on both sides, enlarged towards the 
summit, and very coarsely toothed." As a single tree for 
park scenery, this equals any American species in majesttj 
of form, though it is deficient in individual beauty of 
foliage to some of our oaks. It is to be found for sale in 
our nurseries, and we hope will become well known 
among us. The timber is closer grained and more 
durable, though less elastic than the best American oak ; 
and Michaux, in his Sylva, recommends its introduction 
into this country largely, on these accounts. 

The Turkey oak. (Q. Cerris.) There are two 
beautiful hybrid varieties of this species, which have 
been raised in England by Messrs. Lucombe and Fulham, 
which we hope will yet be found in our ornamental 
plantations. They are partially evergreen in winter, 
remarkably luxuriant in their growth, attaining a height 
of seventy or eighty feet, and elegant in foliage and 
outline. The Lucombe and Fulham oaks grow from one 
to five feet in a season ; the trees assume a beautiful 
pyramidal shape, and as they retain their fine glossy 
leaves till May, they would form a fine contrast to other 
deciduous trees. 

We might here enumerate a great number of other fine 
foreign oaks ; among which the most interesting are the 
Holly or Holm oak {Qnercus Ilex) ; and the Cork oak 
(Q. Suher), of the south of France, which produces the 
cork of commerce (both rather too tender for the north) ; 
the Kermes oak (Q. coccifera), from which a scarlet dye 



152 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

is obtained ; and the Italian Esculent oak (Q. Esculus), 
with sweet nutritious acorns. Those, however, who 
wish to investigate them, will pursue this subject further 
in European works ; while that splendid treatise on our 
forest trees, the North American Sylva of Michaux, will 
be found to give full and accurate descriptions of all our 
numerous indigenous varieties, of which many are 
peculiar to the southern states. 

The oak flourishes best on a strong loamy soil, rather 
moist than dry. Here at least the growth is most rapid, 
although, for timber, the wood is generally not so sound 
on a moist soil as a dry one, and the tree goes to decay 
more rapidly. Among the American lands, however, 
some may be found adapted to every soil and situation, 
though those species which grow on upland soils, in 
stony, clayey, or loamy bottoms, attain the greatest size 
and longevity. When immense trees are desired, the oak 
should either be transplanted very young, or, which is 
preferable, raised from the acorn sown where it is finally 
to remain. This is necessary on account of the very 
large tap roots of this genus of trees, which are either 
entirely destroyed or greatly injured by removal. Trans- 
planting this genus of trees should be performed either 
early in autumn, as soon as the leaves fall or become 
brown, or in spring before the abundant rains commence. 



The Elm. Ulmus. 

Nat. Ord. Ulmaceae. Lin. Syst. Pentandria, Digynia. 

We have ascribed to the oak the character of pre- 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 153 

eminent dignity and majesty among the trees of the forest. 
Let us now claim for the elm the epithets graceful and 
elegant. This tree is one of the noblest in the size of its 
trunk, while the branches are comparatively tapering and 
slender, forming themselves, in most of the species, into 
long and graceful curves. The flowers are of a chocolate 
or purple color, and appear in the month of April, before 
the leaves. The latter are light and airy, of a pleasing 
light green in the spring, growing darker, however, as the 
season advances. The elm is one of the most common 
trees in both continents, and has been well known for its 
beauty and usefulness since a remote period. In the 
south of Europe, particularly in Lombardy, elm trees are 
planted in vineyards, and the vines are trained in festoons 
from tree to tree in the most picturesque manner. Tasso 
alludes to this in the following stanza : 

" Come olmo, a cui la pampiiiosa pianta 
Cupida s'avviticchi e si marite ; 
Se ferro il tronca, o fulmine lo schianta 
Trae scco a terra la compagna vite." 

Gerusalemme Lihaata, 2. 326. 

It is one of the most common trees for public walks 
and avenues, along the highways in France and Germany, 
growing with great rapidity, and soon forming a widely 
extended shade. In Europe, the elm is much used for 
keels in ship-building, and is remarkably durable in water ; 
more extensive use is made of it there than of the 
American kinds in this country, though the wood of the 
Red American elm is more valuable than any other in 
the United States for the blocks used in ship rigging. 

For its graceful beauty the elm is entitled to high 



154 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

regard. Standing alone as a single tree, or in a group 
of at most three or four in number, it developes itself in 
all its perfection. The White American elm we consider 
the most beautiful of the family, and to this we more 
particularly allude. In such situations as we have just 
mentioned, this tree developes its fine ample form in the 
most perfect manner. Its branches first spring up em- 
bracing the centre, then bend off in finely diverging lines, 
until in old trees they often sweep the ground with their 
loose pendent foliage. With all this lightness and peculiar 
gracefulness of form, it is by no means a meagre looking 
tree in the body of its foliage, as its thick tufted masses 
of leaves reflect the sun and embosom the shadows as 
finely as almost any other tree, the oak excepted. We 
consider it peculiarly adapted for planting, in scenes 
where the expression of elegant or classical beauty is 
desired. In autumn the foliage assumes a lively yellow 
tint, contrasting well with the richer and more glowing 
colors of our native woods. Even in winter it is a 
pleasing object, from the minute division of its spray and 
the graceful droop of its branches. It is one of the most 
generally esteemed of our native trees for ornamental 
purposes, and is as great a favorite here as in Europe for 
planting in public squares and along the highways. 
Beautiful specimens may be seen in Cambridge, Mass., 
and very fine avenues of this tree are growing with great 
luxuriance in and about New Haven.* The charming 
villages of New England, among which Northampton 
and Springfield are pre-eminent, borrow from the superb 
and wonderfully luxuriant elms which decorate their fine 

* The great elm of Boston Common is 22 feet in circumference. 



DrciDrous ornamental trees. 155 

streets and avenues, the greater portion of their peculiar 
loveliness. The elm should not be chosen where large 
groups and masses are required, as the similarity of its 
form in different individuals might then create a mo- 
notony ; but as we have before observed, it is peculiarly 
well calculated for small groups, or as a single object. 
The roughness of the bark, contrasting with the lightness 
of its foliage and the easy sweep of its branches, adds 
much also to its effect as a whole. 

We shall briefly describe the principal species of the 
elm. 

The American White elm. (Ulmus Americana.) This 
is the best known and most generally distributed of our 
native species, growing in greater or less profusion over 
the whole of the country included between Lower Canada 
and the Gulf of Mexico. It often reaches 80 feet in 
height in fine soils, with a diameter of 4 or 5 feet. The 
leaves are alternate, 3 or 4 inches long, unequal in size 
at the base, borne on petioles half an inch to an inch in 
length, oval, acuminate, and doubly denticulated. The 
seeds are contained in a flat, oval, winged seed-vessel, 
fringed with small hairs on the margin. The flowers, 
of a dull purple color, are borne in small bunches on 
short footstalks at the end of tlve branches, and appear 
very early in the spring. This tree prefers a deep rich 
soil, and grows with greater luxuriance if it be rather 
moist, often reaching in such situations an altitude of 
nearly 100 feet. It is found in the greatest perfection in 
the alluvial soils of the fertile valleys of the Connecticut, 
the Mississippi, and the Ohio rivers. 

The Red or Slippery elm. (f7. fulva.) A tree of 



156 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

lower size than the White elm, attaining generally only 
40 or 50 feet. According to Michaux, it may be 
distinguished from the latter even in winter, by its buds, 
which are larger and rounder, and which are covered a 
fortnight before their development with a russet down. 
The leaves are larger, rougher, and thicker than those 
of the White elm ; the seed-vessels larger, destitute of 
fringe ; the stamens short, and of a pale rose color. This 
tree bears a strong likeness to the Dutch elm, and the 
bark abounds in mucilage, whence the name of Slippery 
elm. The branches are less drooping than those of the 
White elm. 

The Wahoo elm {U. alata) is not found north of 
Virginia. It may at once be known in every stage of 
its growth by the fungous cork-like substance which 
lines the branches on both sides. It is a very singular 
and curious tree, of moderate stature, and grows rapidly 
and well when cultivated in the northern states. 

The common European elm. (Z7. campestris.) This 
is the most commonly cultivated forest tree in Europe, 
next to the oak. It is a more upright growing tree than 
the White elm, though resembling it in the easy 
disposition and delicacy of its branches. The flowers, 
of a purple color, are produced in round bunches close 
to the stem. The leaves are rough, doubly serrated, 
and much more finely cut than those of our elms. It 
is a fine tree, 60 or 70 feet high, growing with rapidity, 
and is easily cultivated. The timber is more valuable 
than the American sort, though the tree is inferior to 
the White elm in beauty. There are some dozen or 
more fine varieties of this species cultivated in the 
English nurseries, among which the most remarkable are 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 157 

the Twisted elm (U. c. tortuosa), the trunk of which is 
singuhirly marked with hollows and protuberances, and 
the grain of the wood curiously twisted together : the 
Kidbrook elm (Z7. c. virens), which is a sub-evergreen : 
the Gold and Silver striped elms, with variegated leaves, 
and the Narrow-leaved elm (U. c. viminalis), which 
resembles the birch : the Cork-barked elm {U.c. suherosa), 
the young branches of which are covered with cork, etc. 

The latter is one of the hardiest and most vigorous 
of all ornamental trees in this climate. It thrives in 
almost every soil, and its rich, dark foliage, which hangs 
late in autumn, and its somewhat picturesque form, 
should recommend it to every planter. 

The Scotch or Wych elm. {U. montana) This is a 
tree of lower stature than the common European elm, 
its average height being about 40 feet. The leaves are 
broad, rough, pointed, and the branches extend more 
horizontally, di'ooping at the extremities. The bark on 
the branches is comparatively smooth. It is a grand tree, 
" the head is so finely massed and yet so well broken as 
to render it one of the noblest of park trees ; and when' 
it grows wild amid the rocky scenery of its native 
Scotland, there is no tree which assumes so great or so 
pleasing a variety of character."* In general appearance, 
the Scotch elm considerably resembles our White elm, 
and it is a very rapid grower. Its most ornamental 
varieties are the Spiry-topped elm {U. m. fastigiata), 
with singularly twisted leaves, and a very upright growth : 
the weeping Scotch elm {U. m. pendula), a very 
remarkable variety, the branches of which droop in a 

* Sir Tho8. Lauder, in Gilpin, 1. 91. 



IS8 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

fan-like manner : and the Smooth-leaved Scotch elm (U. 
m. glabra). 

There is scarcely any soil to which some of the 
different elms are not adapted. The European species 
prefer a deep, dry soil ; the Scotch or Wych elm will 
thrive well even in very rocky places ; and the White 
elm grows readily in all soils, but most luxuiiantly in 
moist places. All the species attain their maximum size 
when planted in a deep loam, rather moist than dry. 
They bear transplanting remarkably well, suffering but 
little even from the mistaken practice of those persons 
who reduce them in transplanting to the condition of 
bare poles, as they shoot out a new crop of branches, 
and soon become beautiful young trees in spite of the 
mal-treatment. As the elm scarcely produces a tap 
root, even large trees may be removed, when the 
operation is skilfully performed. In such cases, the 
recently-removed tree should be carefully and plentifully 
supplied with water until it is well established in its 
new situation. The elm is also easily propagated by 
seed, layers, or, in some species, by suckers from the 
root. 



The Plane or Buttonwood Tree. Platanus. 

Nat. Ord. Platanaceae. Lin. Syst. Moncecia, Polyandria. 

The plane, Platanus, derives its name from ifXarug, 
broad, on account of the broad, umbrageous nature of its 
branches. It is a well known tree of the very largest 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 159 

size, common to both hemispheres, and greatly prized 
for the fine shade* afforded by its spreading head, in 
the warmer parts ot" Europe and Asia. No tree was in 
greater esteem with the ancients for this purpose ; and 
we are told that the Academic groves, the neighborhood 
of the public schools, and all those favorite avenues where 
the Grecian philosophers were accustomed to resort, were 
planted with these trees ; and beneath their shade 
Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates, delivered the choicest 
wisdom and eloquence of those classic days. The 
Eastern plane {Platanus oricntalis) was first brought 
to the Roman provinces from Persia, and so highly was 
it esteemed that according to Pliny, the Morini paid a 
tribute to Rome for the privilege of enjoying its shade. 
To that author we are also indebted for the history of the 
great plane tree that grew in the province of Lycia, 
which was of so huge a size, that the governor of the 
province, Licinius Mutianus, together with eighteen of 
his retinue, feasted in the hollow of its trunk. 

In the United States, the plane is not generally found 
growing in great quantities in any one place, but is more 
or less scattered over the whole country. In deep, moist, 
alluvial soils, it attains a size scarcely, if at all, inferior to 
that of the huge trees of the eastern continent ; forming 
at least, in the body of its trunk, a larger circumference 
than any other of our native trees. The younger 
Michaux (Si/lva, 1, 325) measured a tree near Marietta, 
Ohio, which at four feet from the gi'ound was found to be 
forty-seven feet in circumference ; and a specimen has' 
lately been cut on the baiiks of the Genesee river, of such 
enormous size, that a section of the trunk was hollowed 
out and furnished as a small room, capable of containing 



160 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

fourteen persons.* On the margins of the great western 
rivers it sometimes rises up seventy feet, and then expands 
into a fine, lofty head, surpassing in grandeur all its 
neighbors of the forest. The large branches of the plane 
shoot out in a horizontal direction ; the trunk generally 
ascending in a regular, stately, and uninterrupted manner. 
The blossoms are small greenish balls appearing in spring, 
and the fertile ones grow to an inch in diameter, assuming 
a deep brownish color, and hang upon the tree during the 
whole winter. A striking and peculiar characteristic of 
the plane, is its property of throwing off or shedding 
continually the other coating of bark here and there in 
patches. Professor Lindley (Introduction to the Natural 
System, 2d ed. 187) says this is owing to its deficiency 
in the expansive power of the fibre common to the bark 
of other trees, or, in other words, to the rigidity of its 
tissue : being therefore incapable of stretching with the 
growth of the tree, it bursts open on different parts of the 
trunk, and is cast oft". This gives the trunk quite a lively 
and picturesque look, extending more or less even to the 
extremity of the branches ; and makes this tree quite 
conspicuous in winter. Bryant, in his address to Green 
River, says : 

" Clear are the depths where its eddies play. 
And dimples deepen and whirl away, 
And the plane tree's speckled arms o'ershoot 
The swifter current that mines its root." 

The great merit of the plane, or buttonwood, is its 

* A buttonwood on the Montezuma estate, Jefferson, Cayuga Co., N. Y., 
is forty-seven and a half feet in circumference ; and the diameter of the 
hollow two feet from the ground, is fifteen feet. (N. Y. 3Ied. Jiepository, 
IV. 427.) 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 161 

extreme vigor and luxuriance of growth. In a good soil it 
will readily reach a height of thirty-five or forty feet in ten 
years. It is easily transplanted ; and in new residences, 
bare of trees, where an eflfect is desired speedily, w^e know 
of nothing better adapted quickly to produce abundance 
of foliage, shelter, and shade. When the requisite foliage 
is obtained, and other trees of slower growth have reached 
a proper size, the former may be thinned out. As the 
plane tree grows to the largest size, it is only proper for 
situations where there is considerable ground, and where 
it can without inconvenience to its fellows have ample 
room for its full development. Then soaring up, and 
extending its wide-spread branches on every side, it is 
certainly a very majestic tree. The color of the foliage 
is of a paler green than is usual in forest trees ; and 
although of large size, is easily wafted to and fro by the 
wind, thereby producing an agreeable diversity of light 
pleasing to the eye in summer. In winter the branches 
are beautifully hung, even to their furthest ends, with the 
numerous round russet-balls, or seed-vessels, each sus- 
pended by a slender cord, and swinging about in the air. 
The outline of the head is pleasingly irregular, and its 
foliage against a sky outline is bold and picturesque. It 
is not a tree to be planted in thick groves by itself, but 
to stand alone and detached, or in a group with two or 
tliree. In avenues it is often happily employed, and 
produces a grand effect. It also grows with great vigor 
in close cities, as some superb specimens in the square 
of the State-house, Pennsylvania Hospital, and other 
places in Philadelphia fully attest. 

There is but a trifling difference in general effect between 

11 



162 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

our plane or buttonwood and the Oriental plane. For the 
purposes of shade and shelter, the American is the finest, 
as its foliage is the longest and broadest. The Oriental 
plane {Platanus orientalis) has the leaves lobed like our 
native kind (P. occidentalis) , but the segments are much 
more deeply cut ; the footstalks of its leaves are green, 
while those of the American are of a reddish hue, and the 
fruit or ball is much smaller and rougher on the outer sur- 
face when fully grown. Both species are common in the 
nurseries, and are worthy the attention of the planter ; the 
Oriental, as well for the interesting associations connected 
with it, being the favorite shade-tree of the east, etc., as for 
its intrinsic merits as a lofty and majestic tree. 

Two of the varieties of P. occidentalis are sometimes cul- 
tivated, the chief of which is the Maple-leaved plane {P. O. 
acerifolia). 



The Ash Tree, Fraxinus. 
Nat. Ord. Oleaceae. Lin. Syst. Polygamia, Dicecia. 

The name of the ash, one of the finest and most useful 
of fsrest trees, is probably derived from the Celtic asc, 
a pike — as its wood was formerly in common use for 
spears and other weapons. Homer informs us that Achilles 
was slain with an ashen spear. In modern times the wood 
is in universal use for the various implements of husbandry, 
for the different purposes of the wheelwright and carriage- 
maker, and in short for all purposes where great strength 
and elasticity are required ; for in these qualities the ash is 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 163 

second to no tree in the forest, the hickory alone excepted. 
The ash is a large and lofty tree, growing, when surrounded 
by other trees, sixty or seventy feet high, and three or more 
in diameter. When exposed on all sides it forms a beau- 
tiful, round, compact head of loose, pinnated, light green 
foliage, and is one of the most vigorous growers among the 
hard-wooded trees. The American species of ash are 
found in the greatest luxuriance and beauty on the banks 
and margins of rivers where the soil is partially dry, yet 
where the roots can easily penetrate down to the moisture. 
The European ash is remarkable for its hardy nature, being 
often found in great vigor on steep rocky hills, and amid 
crevices where most other trees flourish badly. Southey 
alludes to this in the following lines : — 

" Grey as the^tone to which it clung, half root, 
Half trunk, the young ash rises from the rock." 

As the ash grows strongly, and the roots, which extend 
to a great distance, ramify near the surface, it exhausts the 
soil underneath and around it to an astonishing degree. 
For this reason the grass is generally seen in a very meagre 
and starved condition in a lawn where the ash tree abounds. 
Here and there a single tree of the ash will have an excel- 
lent effect, seen from the windows of the house ; but we 
would chiefly employ it for the grand masses, and to inter- 
mingle with other large groups of trees in an extensive 
plantation. When the ash is young it forms a well rounded 
head ; but when older the lower branches bend towards 
the ground, and then slightly turn up in a very graceful 
manner. We take pleasure in quoting what that great 
lover and accurate delineator of forest beauties, Mr. Gilpin, 
says of the ash. " The ash generally carries its principal 



164 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

Stem higher than the oak, and rises in an easy flowing line. 
But its chief beauty consists in the lightness of its whole 
appearance. Its branches at first keep close to the trunk 
and form acute angles with it ; but as they begin to lengthen 
they generally take an easy sweep, and the looseness of the 
leaves corresponding with the lightness of the spray, the 
whole forms an elegant depending foliage. Nothing can 
have a better effect than an old ash hanging from the corner 
of a wood, and brinffincr off the heaviness of the other 
foliage with its loose pendent branches." — {Forest Scenery, 
p. 82.) 

The highest and most characteristic beauty of the Ame- 
rican White ash (and we consider it the finest of all the 
species) is the coloring which its leaves put on in autumn. 
Gilpin complains that the leaf of the European ash " decays 
in a dark, muddy, unpleasing tint." Not so the White ash. 
In an American wood, such as often lines and overhangs 
the banks of the Hudson, the Connecticut, and many of 
our noble northern streams, the ash assumes peculiar beauty 
in autumn, when it can often be distinguished from the 
surrounding trees for four or five miles, by the peculiar and 
beautiful deep brownish purple of its fine mass of foliage. 
This color, though not lively, is so full and rich as to pro- 
duce the most pleasing harmony with the bright yellows 
and reds of the other deciduous trees, and the deep green 
of the pines and cedars. 

The ash, unlike the elm, starts into vegetation late in the 
spring, which is an objection to planting it in the immediate 
vicinity of the house. In winter the long greyish white or 
ash-colored branches are pleasing in tint, compared with 
those of other deciduous trees. 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 165 

The White ash. (Fraxinus Americana ) This species, 
according to M ichaux, is common to the colder parts of the 
Union, and is most abundant north of the Hudson. It 
owes its name to the Hght color of the bark, which on large 
Slocks is deeply furrowed, and divided into squares of one 
to three inches in diameter. The trunk is perfectly straight, 
and in close woods is often undivided to the height of more 
than 40 feet. The leaves are composed of three or four 
pairs of leaflets, terminated by an odd one ; the whole 
twelve or Iburteen inches long. Early in spring they are 
covered with a light down which disappears as summer 
advances, when they become quite smooth, of a light green 
color above and whitish beneath. The foliage, as well as 
the timber of our White ash, is finer than that of the com- 
mon European ash, and the tree is much prized in France 
and Germany. 

The Black ash (F. samhucifolia), sometimes called the 
Water ash, requires a moist soil to thrive well, and is seen 
in the greatest perfection on the borders of swamps. Its 
buds are of a deep blue ; the young shoots of a bright green, 
sprinkled with dots of the same color, which disappear as 
the season advances. It may readily be distinguished from 
the White ash by its bark, which is of a duller hue and less 
deeply furrowed. The Black ash is altogether a tree of 
less stature than the preceding. 

The other native sorts are the Red ash {F. tomentosa), 
with the bark of a deep brown tint, found in Pennsylvania : 
the Green ash {F. viridis), which also grows in Pennsyl- 
vania, and is remarkable for the brilliant green of both sides 
of the leaves: the Blue ash (F. Quadranf^ulata), a beauti- 
ful tree of Kentucky, 70 feet high, distinguished by the four 
opposite membranes of a greenish color, found on the young 



166 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



shoots : and the Carohna ash (F. platycarpa), a small tree, 
the leaves of which are covered with a thick down in 
spring. 

The common European ash {F. excelsior) strongly re- 
sembles the White ash. It may, however, easily be known 
by its very black buds, and longer, more serrated leaflets, 
which are sessile, instead of being furnished with petioles 
like the White ash. This fine tree, as well as the White 
ash, grows to 80 or 90 feet in height, with a very handsome 
head. 

The Weeping ash, Fig. 36, is a very remarkable variety 




[Fig. 36. The Weeping Ash.] 



of the European ash, with pendulous or weeping branches ; 
and is worthy a place in every lawn for its curious ramifi- 
cation, as well as for its general beauty. It is generally 
propagated by grafting on any common stock, as the White 
ash, 7 or 8 feet high, when the branches immediately begin 
to turn down in a very striking and peculiar manner. The 
droop of the branches is hardly a graceful one, yet it is so 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 167 

unique: either when leafless, or in full foliage, that it has 
long been one of our greatest favorites. 

The Flowering ash {Fraxinus Ornus*) is a small tree of 
about 20 feet, growing plentifully in the south of Europe, 
and is also found sparingly in this country. Its chief beauty 
lies in the beautiful clusters of pale or greenish-white flow- 
ers, borne on the terminal branches in May and June. The 
foliage and general appearance of the tree are much like 
those of the common ash ; but when in blossom it resembles 
a good deal the Carolina Fringe tree. In Italy a gummy 
substance called manna exudes from the bark, which is 
used in medicine. 



The Lime or Linden Tree. Tilia. 
Nat. Or(L Tilaceae. Lin. Sysl. Polyandria, Monogynia. 

This tree, or rather the American sort, is well known 
among us by the name of hasswood. It is a rapidly grow- 
ing, handsome, upright, and regularly shaped tree ; and all 
the species are much esteemed, both in Europe and this 
country, for planting in avenues and straight lines, wherever 
the taste is in favor of geometric plantations. In Germany 
and Holland it is a great favorite for bordering their wide 
and handsome streets, and lining their long and straight 
canals. " In Berlin," Granville says in his travels, " there 
is a celebrated street called ' unter der Linden,' (under the 
lime trees.) a gay and splendid avenue, planted with double 

* Ornus Europ<BU8 of Persoon, and the European botanists. Beck remarks 
that the American kind is so little known, that it is difficult to determine 
whether it is a different species or only a mere variety of the European. 



168 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

rows of this tree, which presented to my view a scene far 
more beautiful than I had hitherto witnessed in any town, 
either in France, Flanders, or Germany." In this country 
the European Hme is also much planted in our cities ; and 
some avenues of it may be seen in Philadelphia, particu- 
larly before the State-house in Chestnut-street. The bass- 
wood is a very abundant tree in some parts of the middle 
states, and is seen growing in great profusion, forming thick 
wQods by itself in the interior of this state. With us the 
wood is considered too soft to be of much value, but in 
England it was formerly in high repute as an excellent 
material for the use of carvers. Some very beautiful 
specimens of old carving in lime wood may be seen in 
Windsor Castle and Trinity College.* The Russian bass 
mats, which find their way to every commercial country, 
are prepared from the inner bark of this tree. The sap 
affords a sugar like the maple, although in less quantities ; 
and it is stated in the Encyclopaedia of Plants (p. 467) " that 
the honey made from the flowers of the lime tree is reckoned 
the finest in the world. Near Knowno, in Lithuania, there 
are large forests chiefly of this ti'ee, and probably a distinct 
variety. The honey produced in these forests sells at more 
than double the price of any other, and is used extensively 
in medicine and for liqueurs." 

* T\ih art of carving in wood, brought to such perfection by Gibbons, is now, 
we believe, much given up ; therefore the lime has lost a most important branch 
of its usefulness. Perhaps the finest specimens of the works of Gibbons are to 
be seen at Chatsworth, the seat of the Duke of Devonshire, in Derbyshire. The 
execution of the flowers, fish, game, nets, etc., on the panelling of the walls is 
quite wonderful. It was of him that Walpole justly said, ' that he was the first 
artist who gave to wood the loose and airy lightness of flowers, and chained 
together the various productions of the elements, with a free disorder natural to 
each species.' The lime tree is still, however, used by the carver, and we hop© 
tliat the art of wood carving may gradually be re-tored." — Sir T. D. Lauder. 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 169 

The leaves of the lime are large and handsome, heart- 
shaped in form, and pleasing in color. The flowers, which 
open in June, hang in loose, pale yellow cymes or clusters, 
are quite ornamental and very fragrant. 

Sometimes 

A scent of violets and blossoming limes 
Loitered around us ; then of honey cells. 
Made delicate from all white flower bells. 

Keats. 

« 

It was a favorite tree in the ancient style of gardening, 
as it bore the shears well, and was readily dipt into all 
manner of curious and fantastic shapes. When planted 
singly on a lawn, and allowed to develope itself fully on 
every side, the linden is one of the most beautiful of trees. 
Its head then forms a fine pyramid of verdure, while its 
lower branches sweep the ground and curve upwards in the 
most pleasing form. For this reason, though the linden is 
not a picturesque tree, it is very happily adapted for the 
graceful landscape, as its whole contour is full, flowing, and 
agreeable. The pleasant odor of its flowers is an addi- 
tional recommendation, as well as its free growth and 
handsome leaves. Were it not that of late it is so liable to 
insects, we could hardly say too much in its praise as a fine 
ornament for streets and public parks. There, its regular 
form corresponds well with the formality of the architecture ; 
its shade affords cool and pleasant walks, and the delightful 
odor of its blossoms is doubly grateful in the confined air 
of the city. Our basswood has rather less of uniformity in 
its outline than the European lindens, but the general form 
is the same. 

The American lime, or basswood (Tilia Americana), is 
the most robust tree of the genus, and produces much 



170 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

more vigorous shoots than the European species. Il 
prefers a deep and fertile soil, where the trunk grows 
remarkably straight, and the branches form a handsome, 
well-rounded summit. The flowers are borne on long 
stalks, and are pendulous from the branches. The leaves 
are large, heart-shaped, finely cut on the margin, and 
terminated by a point at the extremity. The seeds, 
which ripen in autumn, are like small peas, round and 
greyish. 

The white lime (T. alba) is rare in the eastern states, 
but common in Pennsylvania and the states south of it. 
It is not a tree of the largest size, but its flowers are the 
finest of our native sorts. The leaves are also very large, 
deep green on the upper surface, and white below ; they 
are more obliquely heart-shaped than those of the common 
basswood. The young branches are covered with a 
smooth silvery bark. This species is very common on 
the Susquehannah river. 

The Howny lime tree. (T. puhescens.) The under 
side of the leaves, and the fruits of this species, are, as its 
name denotes, covered with a short down. Its flowers 
are nearly white ; the serratures of the leaves wider 
apart, and the base of the leaf obliquely truncated. It is 
a handsome large tree, a native of Florida, though hardy 
enough, as experience proves, to bear our northern 
winters. 

The European lime (T. EuropcBa) is distinguished 
from the American sorts, by its smaller and more 
regularly cordate and rounded leaves. Unlike our 
native species, the flowers are not furnished with inner 
scale-like petals. The foliage is rather deeper in hue 
than the native sorts, and the branches of the head rather 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 171 

more regular in form and disposition. There are two 
pretty varieties of the EngHsh Ume which are well known 
in this country, viz. the Red-barked, or corallina (var. 
rubra), with red branches ; and the Golden-barked {var. 
aiirea), with handsome yellow branches. These trees 
are peculiarly beautiful in winter, when a few of them 
mingled with other deciduous trees make a pleasing 
variety of coloring in the absence of foliage. The broad- 
leaved European lime is the finest for shade and 
ornament. The whitish foliage of Tilia alba, which 
probably is also a variety, has a beautiful appearance, 
somewhat like the Abele tree, in a gentle breeze. 

These trees grow well on any good friable soil, and 
readily endure transplantation. They bear trimming 
remarkably well ; and when but little root is obtained the 
head may be shortened in proportion, and the tree will 
soon make vigorous shoots again. All the species are 
easily increased by layers. 



The Beech Tree. Fagus. 
Nat. Old. CorylacesG. Lin. Syst. MoncEcia, Polyandria. 

The Beech is a large, compact, and lofty tree, with a 
greyish bark and finely divided spray, and is a common 
inhabitant of the forest in all temperate climates. In the 
United States, this tree is generally found congregated in 
very great quantities, wherever the soil is most favorable ; 
hundreds of acres being sometimes covered with this 
single kind of timber. Such tracts are familiarly known 



172 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

as "beech woods." The leaves of the beech are 
remarkably thin in texture, glazed and shining on the 
upper surface, and so thickly set upon the numerous 
branches, that it forms the darkest and densest shade of 
any of our deciduous forest trees. It appears to have 
been highly valued by the ancients as a shade tree ; and 
Virgil says in its praise, in a well-known Eclogue : 

" Tityre, tu patulse recubaiis sub tegmine fagi, 
Sylvestrem tcnui musam meditaiis avena." 

It bears a small compressed nut or mast, oily and sweet, 
which once was much valued as an article of food. The 
most useful purpose to which we have heard of their being 
applied, is in the manufacture of an oil, scai'cely inferior 
to olive oil. This is produced from the mast of the beech 
forests in the department of Oise, France, in immense 
quantities ; more than a million of sacks of the nuts 
having been collected in that department in a single 
season. They are reduced, when perfectly ripe, to a fine 
paste, and the oil is extracted by gradual pressure. The 
product of oil, compared with the crushed nuts, is about 
sixteen per cent. (Michaux, N. Ameidcan Sylva.) 

In Europe, the wood of the beech is much used in the 
manufacture of various utensils ; but here, where our 
forests abound in woods vastly superior in strength, 
durability, and firmness, that of the beech is comparatively 
little esteemed. 

For ornamental purposes, the beech, from its compara- 
tively slow growth, and its abundance in various parts of 
the country, does not command the admiration here which 
it does in Europe. Campbell, the poet, has produced so 
eloquent and beautiful an appeal in favor of an old denizen 



DECIDUOt'S ORNAMENTAL TREES. 173 

of the forest, entitled the " Beech Tree's Petition," that 
we gladly quote it, hoping it may perchance stay the 
hand of some soi-disant improver, who would despoil our 
native woods of their proudest glories : 

" Oh, leave this barren spot to me ! 
Spare, woodman, spare the beechen tree! 
Though bush or floweret never grow 
My dark, unwarming sliade below ; 
Nor summer bud perfume the dew 
Of rosy blush or yellow hue ! 
Nor fruits of autumn, blossom-bom, 
My green and glossy leaves adorn ; 
Nor murmuring tribes from me derive 
Th' ambrosial amber of the hive ; 
Yet leave this barren fpot to me — 
Spare, woodman, spare the bccchcn tree! 

Thrice twenty suinmers I have seen 
The sky grow bright, the forest green ; 
And many a wintry wind have stood 
In bloomless, fruitless solitude, 
Since childhood in my pleasant bower 
First spent its sweet and sportive hour ; 
Since youthful lovers in my shade 
Their vows of truth and rapture made ; 
And on my trunk's surviving frame 
Carved many a long-forgotten name. 
Oh ! by the sighs of gentle sound 
First breathed upon this sacred ground. 
By all that Love ha? whispered here. 
Or beauty heard with ravished ear ; 
As Love's own altar, honor me — 
Spare, woodman, spare the beechen tree I" 

The beech is quite handsome and graceful when young, 
and whei\ large it forms one of the heaviest and grandest 
of beautiful park trees. From this massy quality, how- 
ever, it is excellently adapted to mingle with other trees 
when a thick and impenetrable mass of foliage is desired : 



174 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

and, on account of its density, it is also well suited to shut 
out unsightly buildings, or other objects. 

The leaves of many beech trees hang on the tree, in a 
dry and withered state, during the whole winter. This is 
chiefly the case with young trees ; but we consider it as 
greatly diminishing its beauty at that season, as the tree is 
otherwise very pleasing to the eye, with its smooth, round, 
grey stem, and small twisted spray. A deciduous tree, we 
think, should as certainly drop its leaves at the approach 
of cold weather, as an evergreen should retain them ; more 
especially if its leaves have a dead and withered appearance, 
as is the case with those of the beech in this climate. 

The White beech (Fagus Sylvatica) is the common 
beech tree of the middle and western states. It is found in 
the greatest pei'fection in a cool situation and a moist soil. 
The bark is smooth and grey, even upon the oldest stocks. 
The leaves oval, smooth, and shining, coarsely cut on the 
edges, and margined with a soft down in the spring. 

The Red beech (F. feri'uginea), so called on account of 
the color of its wood, loves a still colder climate than the 
other, and is found in the gi'eatest perfection in British 
America. The leaves are divided into coarser teeth on 
the margin than the foregoing species. The nuts are much 
smaller, and the whole tree forms a lower and more spread- 
ing head. 

The European beech {F. sylvatica) is thought by many 
botanists to be the same species as our white beech, or at 
most only a variety. Its average height in Europe is 
about fifty feet ; the buds are shorter, and the leaves not so 
coarsely toothed as our native sorts. The Purple beech is 
a very ornamental variety of the European beech, common 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 175 

in the gardens. Both surfaces of the leaves, and even the 
young shoots, are deep purple ; and although the growth is 
slow, yet it is in every stage of its progress, and more par- 
ticularly when it reaches a good size, one of the strangest 
anomalies among trees, in the hue of its foliage. There is 
also a variety called the copper-colored beech, with paler 
purple leaves ;* and a more rare English variety {F. s. joen- 
dula), the Weeping beech, with graceful pendent branches. 

The Hornbeam {Cai'pinus Americana), and the Iron- 
wood {Ostrya Virginica), are both well known small trees, 
belonging to the same natural family as the beech. They 
are of little value in ornamental plantations ; but from their 
thick foliage, they might perhaps be employed to advantage 
in making thick verdant screens for shelter or concealment. 



The Poplar Tree, Populus. 
JNat. Ord. Salicaeeie. Lin. Syst. Dioecia, Octandria. 

Ay^bor Popidi, or the people's tree, was the name given 
in the ancient days of Rome to this tree, as being peculiarly 
appropriated to those public places most frequented by the 
people : some ingenious authors have still further justified 
the propriety of the name, by adding, that its trembling 
leaves are like the populace, always in motion. 

The poplars are light- wooded, rapid-growing trees ; many 

* The finest Copper Beech in America is growing in the grounds of Thomas 
Ash, Esq., Throgs Neck, Westchester Co., N. Y. It is more than fifty feet 
high, with a broad and finely formed head. 



176 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

of them of huge size, and all with pointed, heart-shaped 
leaves. The tassel-like catkins, or male blossoms, of a red 
or brownish hue, appear early in the spring. Some of the 
American kinds, as the Balsam and Balm of Gilead poplars, 
have their buds enveloped in a fragrant gum ; others, as 
the Silver poplar, or Abele, are remarkable for the snowy 
whiteness of the under side of the foliage ; and the Lom- 
bardy poplar, which 

" Shoots up its spire, and shakes its leaves in the sun," 

Pkoctor. 

for its remarkably conical or spire-like manner of growth. 
The leaves of all the species, being suspended upon long 
and slender footstalks, are easily put in motion by the wind. 
This, however, is peculiarly the case with the aspen, the 
leaves of which may often be seen trembling in the slightest 
breeze, when the foliage of the surrounding trees is motion- 
less. There is a popular legend in Scotland respecting 
this tree, which runs thus : 

" Far off in the Highland wilds 'tis said 
(But truth now laughs at fancy's lore). 

That of this tree the cross v/as made, 
Which erst the Lord of Glory bore ; 

And of that deed its leaves confess, 
E'er since, a troubled consciousness." 

In Landscape Gardening the poplar is not highly esteemed ; 
but it is a valuable tree when judiciously employed, and 
produces a given quantity of foliage and shade sooner 
perhaps than any other. Some of the American kinds are 
majestic and superb trees when old, particularly the Cotton- 
wood and Balsam poplars.* One of the handsomest sorts 

* There is a noble ppecimea of the Cottonwood, or, as it is here called, the 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMEN'TAL TREEa. 



1T7 



is the Silver poplar, which is much valued in our orna- 
mental plantations ; the more so, perhaps, because it is an 









or--^'^! 







fFig. 37. The Cottonwood.] 



exotic. At some distance, the downy under surfaces of the 
leaves, turned up by the wind, give it very much the aspect 
of a tree covered with white blossoms. This effect is the 
more striking, when it is situated in front of a group or 



Balm of Gilcad poplar, about two miles north of Newburgh, on the H-udson, 
which gives its name to the Fmall village (Balmville) near it. The branchea 
cover a surface of one hundred feet in diameter, the trunk girths twenty feet, 
and the branches stretch over the public road in a most majestic manner. (See 
Fig. 37.) 

12 



178 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

mass of the darker foliage of other trees. It is valuable for 
retaining its leaves in full beauty to the latest possible 
period in the autumn, even when all the other deciduous 
trees are either brown, or have entirely lost their leafy- 
honors. Its growth is extremely rapid, forming a fine 
rounded head of thirty feet in height, in six or eight 
years. 

The Lombardy poplar is a beautiful tree, and in certain 
situations produces a very elegant effect ; but it has been 
planted so indiscriminately, in some parts of this country, 
in close monotonous lines before the very doors of our 
houses, and in many places in straight rows along the high- 
ways for miles together, to the neglect of our fine native 
trees, that it has been tiresome and disgusting. This tree 
may, however, be employed with singular advantage in 
giving life, spirit, and variety to a scene composed entirely 
of round-headed trees,' as the oak, ash, etc., — when a tall 
poplar, emerging here and there from the back or centre 
of the group, often imparts an air of elegance and animation 
to the whole. It may, also, from its marked and striking 
contrast to other trees, be employed to fix or direct the 
attention to some particular point in the landscape. When 
large poplars of this kind are growing near a house of but 
moderate dimensions, they have a very bad effect by com- 
pletely overpowering the building, without imparting any 
of that grandeur of character conferred by an old oak, or 
other spreading tree. It should be introduced but sparingly 
in landscape composition, as the moment it is made com- 
mon in any scene, it gives an air of sameness and formality, 
and all the spirited effect is lost which its sparing introduc- 
tion among other trees produces. The Lombardy poplar 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 179 

is SO well adapted to confined situations, as its branches 
require less lateral room than those of almost any other 
large deciduous tree. 

It is an objection to some of the poplars, that in any 
cultivated soil they produce an abundance of suckers. 
For this reason they should be planted only in grass ground, 
or in situations where the soil will not be disturbed, or 
where the suckers will not be injurious. Indeed, we con- 
ceive them to be chiefly worthy of introduction in grounds 
of large extent, to give variety to plantations of other and 
more valuable trees. They grow well in almost every soil, 
moist or dry, and some species prefer quite wet and springy 
places. 

The chief American poplars are the Tachamahaca or 
Balsam poplar {Populus halsamifera), chiefly found in 
Northern America ; a large tree, 80 feet high, with fi'agrant 
gummy buds and lanceolate-oval leaves ; the Balm of 
Gilead poplar (P. candicans), resembling the foregoing in 
its buds, but with very large, broad, heart-shaped foUage. 
From these a gum is sometimes collected, and used medi- 
cinally for the cure of scurvy. The American aspen {P. 
tremuloides), about 30 feet high, a common tree with very 
tremulous leaves and greenish bark ; the large American 
aspen (P. grandidentata), 40 feet high, with large leaves 
bordered with coarse teeth or denticulations ; the Cotton 
tree (P. argentea), 60 or 70 feet, with leaves downy in a 
young state ; the American Black poplar of smaller size, 
having the young shoots covered with short hair ; the 
Cottonwood (P. Canadensis), found chiefly in the western 
part of this state, a fine tree, with smooth, unequally-toothed, 
wide cordate leaves ; and the Carolina poplar (P. angulata). 



180 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

an enormous tree of the swamps of the south and west, 
considerably resembling the Cotton tree, but without the 
resinous buds of that species. 

Among the European kinds, the most ornamental, as we 
have already remarked, is the Silver aspen. White poplar, or 
Abele tree (P. alba), which grows to a great size on a deep 
loamy soil in a very short time. The leaves are divided 
into lobes, and toothed on the margin, smooth and very 
deep green above, and densely covered with a soft, close, 
white down beneath. There are some varieties of this 
species known abroad, with leaves more or less downy, etc. 
Sir J. E. Smith remarks in his English Flora, that the wood, 
though but little used, is much firmer than that of any other 
British poplar ; making as handsome floors as the best 
Norway fir, with the additional advantage that they will 
not readily take fire, like any resinous wood. 

The English aspen (P. tremula) considerably resembles 
our native aspen ; but the buds are somewhat gummy. 
The Athenian poplar (P. Grceca) is a tree about 40 feet 
high, with smaller, more rounded, and equally serrated 
foliage. The common Black European poplar (P. nigra) 
is also a large, rapidly growing tree, with pale-gi'een leaves 
slightly notched : the buds expand later than most other 
poplars, and the young leaves are at first somewhat I'eddish 
in color. The Necklace-bearing poplar (P. monilifera), so 
called from the circumstance of the catkins being arranged 
somewhat like beads in a necklace, is supposed to have 
been derived from Canada, but there are some doubts 
respecting its origin : in the south it is generally called the 
Virginia poplar. 

The Lombardy poplar (P. dilatata), a native of the banks 
of the Po, where it is sometimes called the Cypress poplar. 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 181 

from its resembance to that tree, is too well known among 
us to need any description. Only one sex, the female, has 
hitherto been introduced into this country ; and it has con- 
sequently produced no seeds here, but has been entirely 
propagated by suckers from the root. 



The Horse-chestnut Tree. JEsculus. 
Nat. Ord. iEsculaceiE. Lin. Syst. Ilcptandria, Monogynia. 

A large, showy, much admired, ornamental tree, bearing 
large leaves composed of seven leaflets, and, in the month 
of May, beautiful clusters of white flowers, delicately mot- 
tled with red and yellow. It is a native of Middle Asia, 
but flourishes well in the temperate climates of both hemi- 
spheres. It was introduced into England, probably from 
Turkey, about the year 1575 : in that country the nuts are 
often ground into a coarse flour, which is mixed with other 
food and given to horses that are broken-winded ; and from 
this use the English name of the tree was derived. 

A starch has been extracted in considerable quantity 
from the nuts. The wood is considered valueless in the 
United States. 

The Horse-chestnut is by no means a picturesque tree, 
being too regularly rounded in its outlines, and too compact 
and close in its surface, to produce a spirited effect in light 
and shade. But it is nevertheless one of the most beautiful 
exotic trees which will bear the open air in this climate. 
The leaves, each made of clusters of six or seven leaflets, 
are of a fine dark-green color ; the whole head of foliage 



1S2 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

has much grandeur and richness in its depth of hue and 
massiness of outUne ; and the regular, rounded, pyramidal 
shape, is something so different from that of most of our 
indigenous trees, as to strike the spectator with an air of 
novelty and distinctness. The great beauty of the Horse- 
chestnut is the splendor of its inflorescence, surpassing that 
of almost all our native forest trees : the huge clusters of 
gay blossoms, which every spring are distributed with such 
luxuriance and profusion over the surface of the foliage, 
and at the extremity of the branches, give the whole tree 
the aspect rather of some monstrous flowering shrub, than 
of an ordinary tree of the largest size. At that season there 
can be no more beautiful object to stand singly upon the 
lawn, particularly if its branches are permitted to grow low 
down the trunk, and (as they naturally will as the tree ad- 
vances) sweep the green sward with their drooping foliage. 
Like the lime tree, however, care must be taken, in the 
modern style, to introduce it rather sparingly in picturesque 
plantations, and then only as a single tree, or upon the 
margin of large groups, masses, or plantations ; but it may 
be more freely used in grounds in the graceful style, for 
which it is highly suitable. When handsome avenues or 
straight lines are wanted, the Horse-chestnut is again ad- 
mirably suited, from its symmetry and regularity. It is, 
therefore, much and justly valued for these purposes in our 
towns and cities, where its deep shade and beauty of blos- 
som are peculiarly desirable, the only objection to it being 
the early fall of its leaves. The Horse-chestnut is very 
interesting in its mode of growth. The large buds are 
thickly covered in winter with a resinous gum, to protect 
them from the cold and moisture ; in the spring these burst 
open, and the whole growth of the young shoots, leaves, 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 183 

flowers, and all, is completed in about three or four weeks. 
When the leaves first unfold, they are clothed with a 
copious cotton-like down, which falls off when they have 
attained their full size and development. 

The growth of the Horse-chestnut is slow for a soft- 
wooded tree, when the trees are young ; after five or six 
years, however, it advances with more rapidity, and in 
twenty years forms a beautiful and massy tree. It prefers 
a strong, rich, loamy soil, and is easily raised from the large 
nuts, which are produced in great abundance. 

There are several species of Horse-chestnut, but the 
common one {JEsculus Hlppocastanum) is incomparably 
the finest. The American sorts are the following : {jEs- 
culus Ohioensis) or Ohio Buckeye, as it is called in the 
western states ; a small sized tree, with palmated leaves 
consisting ofjiv:: leaflets, and pretty, bright yellow flowers, 
with red stamens. The fruit is about half the size of the 
exotic species. The Red-flowered Horse-chestnut {^scu- 
lus rubicuvda) is a small tree with scarlet flowers ; and the 
Smooth-leaved {jE. glabra) has pale yellow flowers. AH 
the foregoing have prickly fruit. Besides these are two 
small Horse-chestnuts with smooth fruit, which thence 
properly belong to the genus Pavia, viz. the Yellow-flow- 
ered Pavia (P. lutea) of Virginia and the southern states ; 
and the Red-flowered {P. rubra), with pretty clusters of 
i-eddish flowers ; both these have leaves resembling those 
of the Horse-chestnut, except in being divided into five 
leaflets, instead of seven. There are some other species, 
which are, however, rather shrubs than trees. 



184 LANDSCAPE GARDENING, 

The Birch Tree. Betula. 

Nat. Ord. Betulacea;. Lin. Syst. Moncecia, Polyandria. 

The Birch trees are common inhabitants of the forests 
of all cold and elevated countries. They are remarkable 
for their smooth, silvery-white, or reddish colored stems, 
delicate and pliant spray, and small, light foliage. There 
is no deciduous tree which will endure a more rigorous 
climate, or grow at a greater elevation above the level of 
the sea. It is found growing in Greenland and Kams- 
chatka, as far north as the 58th and 60th degree of 
latitude, and on the Alps in Switzerland, according to 
that learned botanist, M. DeCandolle, at the elevation of 
4,400 feet. It is undoubtedly the most useful tree of 
northern climates. Not only are cattle and sheep 
sometimes fed upon the leaves, but the Laplander 
constructs his hut of the branches ; the Russian forms 
the bark into shoes, baskets, and cordage for harnessino- 
his reindeer ; and the inhabitants of Northern Siberia, in 
times of scarcity, grind it to mix with their oatmeal for 
food. In this country the birch is no less useful. The 
North American Indian, and all who are obliged to travel 
the wdld, unfrequented portions of British America, — 
who have to pass over rapids, and make their way 
through the wilderness from river to river, — find the 
canoe made of the birch bark, the lightest, the most 
durable, and convenient vessel, for these purposes, in the 
world.* 

* The following interesting description of their manufacture, we quote from 
Michaux. " The most important purpose to which the Canoe birch is applied, 
and one in wluch it? place is supplied by no other tree, is the constraction of 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMUXTAL TREES. 185 

The wood of our Black birch is by far the finest ; and, 
as it assumes a beautiful rosy color when polished, and is 
next in texture to the wild Cherry tree, it is considerably 
esteemed among cabinet-makers in the eastern states, for 
chairs, tables, and bedsteads. 

In Europe, the sap of the birch is collected in tiie 
spring, in the same manner as that of the maple in this 
country, boiled with sugar and hops, and fermented with 
the aid of yeast. The product of the fermentation is 
called birch wine, and is described as being a remarkably 
pleasant and healthy beverage. 

Though perhaps too common in some districts of our 
country to be properly regarded as an ornamental tree, 
yet in others Avhere it is less so, the birch will doubtless 
be esteemed as it deserves. With us it is a great favorite ; 
and we regard it as a very elegant and graceful tree, not 
less on account of the silvery white bark of several 
species, than from the extreme delicacy of the spray, and 
the pleasing lightness and airiness of the foliage. In all 
the species, the branches have a tendency to form those 
graceful curves which contribute so much to the beauty 



canoes. To procure proper pieces, the largest and smoothest trunks are 
selected ; in the spring, two circular incisions are made several feet apart, and 
two longitudinal ones, on opposite sides of the tree: after which, by intro- 
ducing a wedge, the bark is easily detached. These plates are usually ten or 
twelve feet long, and two feet nine inches broad. To form canoes, they are 
stitched together with fibrous roots of the white spruce, about the size of a 
quill, which are deprived of the bark, split, and suppled in water. The seams 
are coated with resin of the Balm of Gilead. Great use is made of these 
canoes by the savages, and the French Canadians, in their long journeys through 
the interior of the country : they are light, and very easily transported on the 
shoulders from one lake to another, which is called the portage. A canoe 
calculated for four persons, with their baggage, weighs from forty to fifty 
pounds ; and some of them are made to carry fifteen pas.vengcrs." 



186 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

of trees ; but the European weeping birch is peculiarly 
pleasing as it grows old, on that account. It is this variety 
which Coleridge pronounces, 

" Most beautiful 



Of forest troos — the Lady of the woods." 

And Bernard Barton, speaking of our native species, says, 

" See tlie beautiful Birch tree fling 

Its shade on the grass beneath — 
Its glossy leaf, and its silvery stem ; 
Dost thou not love to look on them?" 

The American sorts, and particularly the Black birch, 
start into leaf very early in the spring, and their tender 
green is agreeable to the eye at that season ; while the 
swelling buds and young foliage in many kinds, give out a 
delicious, though faint perfume. Even the blossoms, which 
hang like little -brown tassels I'rom the drooping branches, 
are interesting to the lover of nature. 

" The fragrant birch above him hung 
Her tas?els in the sky, 
And many a vernal blossom sprung, 
And nodded careless by."' 

Bryant. 

'Nothing can well be prettier, seen from the windows of 
the drawing-room, than a large group of trees, whose depth 
and distance is made up by the heavy and deep masses of 
the ash, oak, and maple ; and the portions nearest the eye or 
the lawn terminated by a few birches, with their sparkling 
white stems, and delicate, airy, drooping foliage. Our White 
birch, being a small tree, is very handsome in such situa- 
tions, and offers the most pleasing variety to the eye, when 



DECIDUOUS OUXAMENTAL TREES. 187 

seen in connexion with other foliage. Several kinds, as 
the Yellow and the Black birches, are really stately trees, 
and form fine groups by themselves. Indeed, most beauti- 
ful and varied masses might be formed by collecting 
together all the different kinds, with their characteristic 
barks, branches, and foliage. 

As an additional recommendation, many of these trees 
grow on the thinnest and most indifferent soils, whether 
moist or dry ; and in cold, bleak, and exposed situations, 
as well as in warm and sheltered places. 

We shall enumerate the different kinds as follows : — 

The Canoe birch, Boleau a Canot, of the French Cana- 
dians (B.papyracea), sometimes also called the Paper birch, 
is, accordino; to Michaux, most common in the forests of the 
eastern states, north of latitude 43°, and in the Canadas. 
There it attains its largest size, sometimes seventy feet in 
height, and three in diameter. Its branches are slender, 
flexible, covered with a shining brown bark, dotted with 
white ; and on trees of moderate size, the bark of the trunk 
is of a brilliant white ; it is often used for roofing houses, 
for the manufacture of baskets, boxes, etc., besides its most 
important use for canoes, as already mentioned. The leaves, 
borne on petioles four or five lines long, are of a middling 
size, oval, unequally denticulated, smooth, and of a dark 
green color. 

The White birch (B. populifolia) is a tree of much 
smaller size, generally from twenty to thirty-five feet in 
height : it is found in New York and the other middle 
states, as well as at the north. The trunk, like the fore- 
going, is covered with silvery bark ; the branches are 
slender, and generally drooping when the tree attains con- 
siderable size. The le:ives are smooth on both surfaces. 



188 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

heart-shaped at the base, very acuminate, and doubly and 
irregularly toothed. The petioles are slightly twisted, and 
the leaves are almost as tremulous as those of the aspen. 
It is a beautiful small tree for ornamental plantations. 

The common Black or Sweet birch. (B. lenta.) This 
is the sort most generally known by the name of the birch, 
and is widely diffused over the middle and southern states. 
In color and appearance the bark much resembles that of 
the cherry tree ; on old trees, at the close of winter, it is 
frequently detached in transverse portions, in the form of 
hard ligneous plates six or eight inches broad. The leaves, 
for a fortnight after their appearance, are covered with a 
thick silvery down, which disappears soon after. They are 
about two inches long, serrate, heart-shaped at the base, 
aci^minate at the summit, and of a pleasing tint and fine 
texture. The wood is of excellent quality, and Michaux 
recommends its introduction largely into the forests of the 
north of Europe." 

The Yellow birch {B. luted) grows most plentifully in 
Nova Scotia, Maine, and New Brunswick, on cool, rich 
soils, where it is a tree of the largest size. It is remark- 
able for the color and arrangement of its outer bark, which 
is of a brilliant golden yellow, and is frequently seen divided 
into fine strips rolled backwards at the end, but attached in 
the/ middle. The leaves are about three and a half inches 
long, two and a half broad, ovate, acuminate, and bordered 
with sharp and irregular teeth. It is a beautiful tree, with 
a trunk of nearly uniform diameter, straight, and destitute 
of branches for thirty or forty feet. 

The Red birch {B. rubra) belongs chiefly to the south, 
being scarcely ever seen north of Virginia. It prefers the 
moist soil of river banks, where it reaches a noble height. 



DECIDUOUS ORXAMENTAL TREES. 189 

It takes its name from the cinnamon or reddish color of the 
outer bark on the young trees ; when old it becomes rough, 
furrowed, and greenish. The leaves are light green on the 
upper surface, whitish beneath, very pointed at the end, 
and terminated at the base in an acute angle. The twigs 
are long, flexible, and pendulous ; and the limbs of a brown 
color, spotted with white. 

The European White birch. (B. alba.) This species, 
the common birch tree of Europe, is intermediate in appear- 
ance and qualities between our Canoe birch and White 
birch. The latter it resembles in its foliage, the former in 
its large size and the excellence of its wood. There is a 
distinct variety of this, to which we have alluded, called 
the Weeping birch (Var. pendula), which is very rapid in 
its growth, and highly graceful in its form. From the great 
beauty of our native species, this is perhaps the only Euro- 
pean sort which it is very desirable to introduce into our 
collections. 



The Alder Tree. Alnus. 

# 
Nat. Ord. Bctulacerc. Liu. Syst. Monoecia, Tetrandria. 

The alder tree is a native of the whole of Europe, where 
it grows to the altitude of from thirty to sixty feet. Our 
common Black alder (A. glauca), and Hazel-leaved alder 
{A. scrrulata), are low shrubs of little value or interest. 
This, however, is a neat tree, remarkable for its love of 
moist situations, and thriving best in places even too wet 
for the willows ; although it will also flourish on dry and 
elevated soils. The leaves are roundish in form, wavv, and 



190 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

serrated in their margins, and dark green in color. The 
tree rapidly forms an agreeable pyramidal head of foliage, 
when growing in damp situations. As it is a foreign tree 
we shall quote from Gilpin its character in scenery. " The 
alder," says he, "loves a low, moist soil, and frequents the 
banks of rivers, and will flourish in the poorest forest 
swamps where nothing else will grow. It is perhaps the 
most picturesque of any of the aquatic tribe, except the 
weeping willow. He who would see the alder in perfection 
must follow the banks of the Mole in Surrey, through the 
sweet vales of Dorking and Mickleham, into the groves of 
Esher. The Mole, indeed, is far from being a beautiful 
river ; it is a silent and sluggish stream, but what beauty 
it has it owes greatly to the alder, which eveiywhere fringes 
its meadows, and in many places forms very pleasing scenes. 
It is always associated in our minds with river scenery, 
both of that tranquil description most frequently to be met 
with in the vales of England, and with that wider and more 
stirring cast which is to be found amidst the deep glens and 
ravines of vScotland ; and nowhere is this tree found in 
greater perfection than on the wild banks of the river Find- 
horn and its tributary streams, where scenery of the most 
rbmantic description everywhere prevails."* 

Although the beauty of the alder is of a secondary kind, 
it is worth occasional introduction into landscapes where 
there is much water to be planted round, or low running 
streams to cover with foliage. In these damp places, like 
the willow, it grows very well from truncheons or large 
limbs, stuck in the ground, which take root and become 
trees speedily. There are two principal varieties, the 

* Lauder's Gilpin, i. p. 136. 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 191 

common alder (A. glutinosa), and the cut-leaved alder 
{A. glutinosa laciiiiata). The latter is much the hand- 
somer tree, and is also the rarest in our nurseries. 



The Maple Tree. Acer. 
Nat. Ord. Accraceic. Lin. Sijst. Polygamia, Monoecia. 

The great esteem in which the maples are held in the 
middle states, as ornamental trees, although they are by no 
means uncommon in every piece of woods of any extent, 
is a high proof of their superior merits for such purposes. 
These consist in the rapidity of their growth, the beauty 
of their form, the fine verdure of their foliage, and in some 
sorts, the elegance of their blossoms. Among all the spe- 
cies, both native and foreign, we consider the Scarlet- 
flowering maple as decidedly the most ornamental species. 
In the spring this tree bursts out in gay tufts of red blos- 
soms, which enliven both its own branches and the sur- 
rounding scene long before a leaf is seen on other deciduous 
trees, and when the only other appearances of vegetation 
are a few catkins of some willows or poplars swelling into 
bloom. At that season of the year the Scarlet maple is 
certainly the most beautiful tree of our forests. Besides 
this, it grows well either in the very moist soil of swamps, 
or the dry one of upland ridges, forms a fine clustering 
head of foliage, and produces an ample and delightful shade ; 
while it is also as little infected by insects of any description 
as any other tree. The latter advantage, the Sugar maple 
and our other varieties equally possess. As a handsome 



192 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

spreading tree, perhaps the White maple deserves most 
praise, its outhne and surface being, in many cases, quite 
picturesque. There is no quahty, however, for which the 
American maples are entitled to higher consideration as 
desirable objects in scenery, than for the exquisite beauty 
which their foliage assumes in autumn, as it fades and 
gradually dies off. At the first approach of cold we can 
just perceive a bright yellow stealing over the leaves, then 
a deeper golden tint, then a few faint blushes, until at 
length the whole mass of ibliage becomes one blaze of 
crimson or orange. 

" Tints that the maple woods disclose 
LUte opening buds or fading rose. 
Or various as those hues that dye 
The clouds that deck a sunset sky." 

The contrast of coloring exhibited on many of our fine 
river shores in a warm dry autumn, is perhaps superior to 
anything of the kind in the world : and the leading and 
most brilliant colors, viz. orange and scarlet, are pro- 
duced by maples. Even in Europe, they are highly 
valued for this autumnal appearance, so different from that 
of most of the trees of the old world. Very beautiful 
effects can be produced by planting the Scarlet and Sugar 
maples in the near neighborhood of the ash, which, as we 
have already noticed, assumes a fine brownish purple ; of 
the sycamore, which is yellow, and some of the oaks, which 
remain green for a long time : if to these we add a few 
evergreens, as the White pine and hemlock, to produce 
depth, we shall have a kind of kaleidoscope ground, harmo- 
nious and beautiful as the rainbow. 

When the maple is planted to grow singly on the lawn, 
or in small groups, it should never be trimmed up ten or 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 193 

twenty feet high, a very common practice in some places, 
as this destroys half its beauty ; but if it be suffered to 
branch out quite low down, it will form a very elegant 
head. The maple is well suited to scenes expressive of 
graceful beauty, as they unite to a considerable variation 
of surface, a pleasing softness and roundness of outline. 
In bold or picturesque scenes, they can be employed to 
advantage by intermingling them with the more striking 
and majestic forms of the oak, etc., where variety and 
contrast is desired. The European sycamore, which is 
also a maple, has a coarser foliage, and more of strength in 
its growth and appearance : it perhaps approaches nearer 
in general expression and effect to the plane tree, than to 
our native maples. 

It is unnecessary for us to recommend this tree for 
avenues, or for bordering the streets of cities, as its general 
prevalence in such places sufficiently indicates its acknow- 
ledged claims for beauty, shade, and shelter. It bears 
l)runing remarkably well, and is easily transplanted, even 
when of large size, from its native woods or swamps. The 
finest trees, however, are produced from seed. 

The Sugar maple (Acer saccharinum) is a very abundant 
tree in the northern states and the Canadas, where it 
sometimes forms immense forests. The bark is white ; the 
leaves four or five inches broad, and five-lobed ; varying, 
however, in size according to the age of the tree. The 
flowers are small, yellowish, and suspended by slender 
droopins peduncles. The seed is contained in two capsules 
united at the base, and terminated in a membranous wing ; 
they are ripe in October. From certain parts of the trunks 
of old Sugar maples, the fine wood called bird's-eye maple 

13 



194 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

is taken, which is so highly prized by the cabinet-makers ; 
and the sap, which flows in abundance from holes bored in 
the stem of the tree early in March, produces the well- 
known maple sugar. This can be clarified, so as to equal 
that of the cane in flavor and appearance ; and it has been 
demonstrated that the planting of maple orchards, for the 
production of sugar, would be a profitable investment. 

The Scarlet-flowering maple {A. rubrum) is found 
chiefly on the borders of rivers, or in swamps ; the latter 
place appears best suited to this tree, for it there often 
attains a very large size : it is frequently called the Soft 
maple or Swamp maple. The blossoms come out about 
the middle of April while the branches are yet bare of 
leaves, and their numerous little pendulous stamens appear 
like small tufts of scarlet or purple threads. The leaves 
somewhat resemble those of the Sugar maple, but are 
rather smaller, and only three or four lobed, glaucous or 
whitish underneath, and irregularly toothed on the margin. 
This tree may easily be distinguished when young from the 
former, by the bark of the trunk, which is grey, with large 
whitish spots. Its trunk, in the choicest parts, furnishes the 
beautiful wood known as the curled maple. 

The White or Silver-leaved maple. {A. eriocarpum.) 
This species somewhat resembles the Scarlet-flowering 
maple, and they are often confounded together in the 
eastern and middle states, where it grows but sparingly. 
West of the Alleghany mountains it is seen in perfection, 
and is well known as the White maple. Its flowers are 
very pale in color, and much smaller than those of the 
foregoing sorts. The leaves are divided into four lobes, 
and have a beautiful white under surface. Michaux, 
speaking of this tree, says : " lu no part of the United 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES, 195 

States is it more multiplied than in the western country, 
and nowhere is its vegetation more luxuriant than on the 
banks of the Ohio. There, sometimes alone and sometimes 
mingled with the willow, which is found along these waters, 
it contributes singularly, by its magnificent foliage, to the 
embellishment of the scene. The brilliant white of the 
leaves beneath, forms a striking contrast with the bright 
green above ; and the alternate reflection of the two surfaces 
in the water, heightening the beauty of this wonderful 
moving mirror, aids in forming an enchanting picture, 
which, during my long excursions in a canoe in these re- 
gions of solitude and silence, I contemplated with unwearied 
admiration."* There, on those fine, deep, alluvial soils, it 
often attains twelve or fifteen feet in circumference. 

As an ornamental variety, the Silver-leaved maple is one 
of the most valuable. It is exceedingly rapid in its growth, 
often making shoots six feet long in a season ; and the 
silvery hue of its foliage, Avhen stirred by the wind, as well 
as its fine, half drooping habit, render it highly interesting 
to the planter. Admirable specimens of this species may 
be seen in the wide streets of Burlington, N. J. 

The Moose wood, or Striped maple (A. striatum), is a small 
tree with beautifully striped bark. It is often seen on the 
mountains which border the Hudson, but abounds most 
profusely in the north of the continent. Acer nigrum is 
the Black sugar tree of Genesee. A. Negundo,^ the Ash- 
leaved maple, has handsome pinnated foliage of a light 
green hue ; it forms a pleasing tnee of medium size. 
These are our principal native species J 

* N. A. Sylva, i. 214. t Negundo frazinifoliinn. 

t Mr. Douglas has (U.^covcred a very .superb maple (A. macrophyllum), on 
the Columbia river, with vory largo ioave?, and line fragrant yellow blossoms. 



1^ LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

Among the finest foreign sorts is the Norway maple 
(A. platanoides), with leaves intermediate in appearance 
between those of the plane tree and Sugar maple. The 
bark of the trunk is brown, and rougher in appearance 
than our maples, and the tree is more loose and spreading 
in its growth ; it also grows more rapidly, and strongly 
resembles at a little distance, the button-wood in its young 
state. Another interesting species is the sycamore tree or 
Great maple {A. pseudo-platanus). The latter also 
considerably resembles the plane ; but the leaves, like those 
of the common maple, are smoother. They are five-lobed, 
acute in the divisions, and are placed on much longer 
petioles than those of most of the species. The flowers, 
strung in clusters like those of the common currant, are 
greenish in color. It is much esteemed as a shade-tree 
in Scotland and some parts of the Continent, and grows 
with vigor, producing a large head, and widely spreading 
branches. 



The Locust Tree. Rohinia. 

Nat. Ord. Leguminosae. Lin. Syst. Diadelphia, Decandria. 

This is a well-known American tree, found growing 
wild in all of the states west of the Delaware River. It is 
a tree of secondary size, attaining generally the height of 
forty or fifty feet. The leaves are pinnated, bluish-green 
in color, and are thinly scattered over the branches. The 
white blossoms appear in June, and are highly fragrant and 
beautiful ; and from them the Paris perfumers distil an 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 197 

extrait which greatly resembles orange-flower water, and 
is used for the same purposes. 

As an ornamental tree we do not esteem the locust 
highly. The objections to it are, 1st, its meagreness and 
lightness of foliage, producing but little shade ; secondly, 
the extreme brittleness of its branches, which are liable to 
be broken and disfigured by every gale of wind ; and lastly, 
the abundance of suckers which it produces. Notwith- 
standing these defects, we would not entirely banish the 
locust from our pleasure-grounds ; for its light foliage of a 
fresh and pleasing green may often be used to advantage 
in producing a variety with other trees ; and its very fra- 
grant blossoms are beautiful, when in the beginning of 
summer they hang in loose pendulous clusters from among 
its light foliage. These will always speak sufficiently in 
its favor to cause it to be planted more or less, where a 
variety of trees is desired. It should, however, be re- 
membered that the foliage comes out at a late period in 
spring, and falls early in autumn, which we consider objec- 
tions to any tree that is to be planted in the close vicinity 
of the mansion. It is valuable for its extremely rapid 
growth when young ; as during the first ten or fifteen years 
of its life it exceeds in thrifty shoots almost all other forest 
trees : but it is comparatively short-lived, and in twenty 
years' time many other trees would completely overtop and 
outstrip it It is easily propagated by seed, which is by 
far the best mode of raising it, and it prefers a deep, rich, 
sandy loam.* 

* There is a great difiercnce in the growth of this tree. In cold or indiflferent 
soils it presents a rough and rugged aspect ; but in deep, warm, sandy soils it 
becomes quite another tree in appearance. The highest specimens we have 
ever seen are now growing in such soil on the estate of J. P. Derwint, Esq., at 



1#6 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

As a timber tree of the very first class, the locust has 
but few rivals. It is found to be stronger and more dura- 
ble than the best oak or Red cedar ; while it is lighter and 
equally durable with the Live oak of the south. Its excel- 
lency for ship-building is therefore unsurpassed ; and as 
much of the timber as can be procured of sufficient size, 
commands a high price for that purpose. Great use is also 
made of it in tree-nails (the wooden pins which fasten the 
side planks to the ship's frame), and it is now extensively 
substituted for the iron ones formerly used for that purpose ; 
a considerable quantity of the wood is now even exported 
to England for this purpose. For posts it is more durable 
than the Red cedar, and is therefore in high estimation for 
fencing. In France, where the tree was introduced by 
Jean Robin, herbalist to Henry IV. (whence the name 
Rohinia), it is much cultivated for the poles used in support- 
ing the grapes in vineyards. It has the remarkable pro- 
perty, says Michaux, of beginning from the third year to 
convert its sap into perfect wood ; which is not done by 
the elm, oak, beech, or chestnut, until after the tenth or 
fifteenth year. Hence excellent and durable timber can 
be obtained from this tree in a shorter period than from 
any other.* 

Fishkill Landing, on the banks of the Hudson, New York. Some specimens 
there measure 90 feet, which is higher than Michaux saw on the deep alluvials 
in Kentucky, where they are natives. The finest single tree is one standing in 
front of the mansion at Clermont, on the Hudson, which is four feet in 
diameter. 

* Cobbett, who, en passant, though a most remarkable man, was as great a 
quack in gardening as the famous pill-dealers now are in medicine, carried over 
from this country when he returned to England, a great quantity of seeds of the 
locust, which he reared and sold in immense quantities. In his " Woodlands," 
which appeared about that time, he praised its value and utility in the most ex- 
aggerated tenns, affirming " that no man in America will pretend to say he 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 199 

The locust can be cultivated to advantage as a timber 
tree, only upon deep, mellow, and rather rich, sandy soils ; 
there, its growth is wonderfully vigorous, and an immense 
number may be grown upon a small area of ground. In 
clayey, heavy, or strong loamy soils the tree never attains 
much size, and is extremely liable to the attacks of the borer, 
which renders its wood in a great measure valueless. In 
particularly favorable situations its culture may be made 
extremely profitable.* 

There are but two distinct species of locust which attain 



ever saw a bit of it in a decayed state ;" and that " its wood is absolutely 
indestructible by the powers of earth, air, and icater." " The time will come," 
he continues, " and it will not be very distant, when the locust tree will be more 
common in England than the oak ; when a man would be thought mad if he 
used anything but locust in the constraction of sills, posts, gates, joists, feet for 
rick stands, stocks and axletrees for wheels, hop-poles, pales, or for anything 
where there is liability to rot. This time will not be distant, seeing that the 
locust tree grows so fast. The no.\t race of children but one, that is to say, 
those who will be bom 60 years hence, will think the locust trees have always 
been the most numerous'trees in England ; and some curious writer of a cen- 
tury or two hence, will tell his readers, that wonderful as it may seem, ' tlie 
locust was hardly known in England until about the year 1823, when the 
nation was introduced to a knowledge of it by William Cobbett.' What he 
will say of me besides, I do not know ; but I know he will say this of me. I 
enter this upon account, therefore, knowing that I am writing for centuries to 
come." I ! For a fiiller account of his locust phrensy, we refer our readers to 
the very complete article on Robinia, in that magnificent work, the "Arboretum 
Britannicum." 

* There is a well known instance of the profit of this tree, which we perceive 
has found its way into the memoirs of the Agricultural Society of Paris. A 
farmer on Long Island, some sixty years ago, on the year of his marriage, 
planted fourteen acres of his farm with the Yellow locust. When his eldest 
son married at twenty-two, he cut twelve hundred dollars' worth of timber fi-om 
the field, as a marriage portion, which he gave his son to buy a settlement in 
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, then considered a part of the '• western coun- 
try." Three years after the locust grove yielded as much for a daughter ; and 
in this way his whole family were provided for ; as the rapidity with which the 
young suckers grew up fully repaired the breaches made in the fourteen acres. 



200 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

the size of trees in this country, viz. the Yellow locust 
(jR. pseud-acacia), so called from the color of its wood ; and 
the Honey locust {R. viscosa), a smaller tree, with reddish 
flowers, and branches covered with a viscid honey-like gum. 
Some pretty varieties of the former have been originated 
in gardens abroad, among which the Parasol locust {Var. 
umhraculifera) is decidedly the most interesting. We 
recollect some handsome specimens which were imported 
by the late M. Parmentier, and grew in his garden at 
Brooklyn, Long Island. They were remarkable for their 
unique, rounded, umbrella-like heads, when grafted ten or 
twelve feet hio-h on the common locust. 

There are two pretty distinct varieties of the common 
Yellow locust, cultivated on the Hudson. That most fre- 
quently seen is the White variety, which forms a tall and 
narrow head ; the other is the Black locust, with a broad 
and more spreading head, and larger trunk ; the latter may 
be seen in fine condition at Clermont. It is a much finer 
ornamental tree, and appears less liable to the borer than 
the White varietv. 



The Three-thorned Acacia Tree. Gleditschia. 

Nat. Ord. LeguminossB. Lin. Sijst. Polygamia, Dicecia. 

This tree is often called the Three-thorned locust, from 
some resemblance to the latter tree. Its delicate, doubly 
pinnate leaves, however, are much more like those of the 
Acacias, a family of plants not hardy enough to bear our 
climate. It is a much finer tree in appearance than the 
common locust, although the flowers are greenish, and 
inconspicuous, instead of possessing the beauty and fra- 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 201 

grance of the latter. There is, however, a peculiar ele- 
gance about Its light green and beautiful foliage, which 
wafts so gracefully in the summer breeze, and folds up on 
the slifjhtest shower, that it stands far above that tree in 
our estimation, for the embellishment of scenery. The 
branches spread out rather horizontally, in a fine, broad, 
and lofty head ; there are none of the^dead and unsightly 
branches so common on the locust ; and the light feathery 
foliage, lit up in the sunshine, has an airy and transparent 
look, rarely seen in so large a tree, which sometimes pro- 
duces very happy effects in composition with other trees. 
The bark is of a pleasing brown, smooth in surface the 
branches are studded over with curious, long, triply-pointed 
thorns, which also often jut out in clusters, in every direc- 
tion from the trunk of the tree, to the length of four or five 
inches, giving it a most singular and forbidding look. In 
winter, these and the long seed-pods, five or six inches in 
length, which hang upon the boughs at that season, give the 
whole tree a very distinct character. These pods contain 
a sweetish substance, somewhat resembling honey ; 
whence the tree has in some places obtained the name of 
Honey locust, which properly belongs to Rohinia viscosa. 
Another recommendation of this tree, is the variety of 
picturesque shapes which it assumes in growing up ; some- 
times forming a tall pyramidal head of 50 or 60 feet, some- 
times a low horizontally branched tree, and at others it 
expands into a wide irregular head, quite flattened at the 
summit. It does not produce suckers like the locust, and 
may therefore be introduced into any part of the grounds. 
When but a limited extent is devoted to a lawn or garden, 
this tree should be among the first to obtain a place ; as 
one or two Three-thorned Acacias, mingled with other 



202 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

larger and heavier foliage, will at once produce a charming 
variety. 

The Three-thorned Acacia has been strongly recom- 
mended for hedges. It is too liable to become thin at the 
bottom, to serve well for an outer inclosure, but if kept 
well trinuned, it forms a capital farm fence and protection 
against the larger animals, growing up in much less time 
than the hawthorn. Like the locust, it has the disadvan- 
tage of expanding its foliage late in the spring. In the 
strong rich soils which it prefers, it grows very vigorously, 
and is easily propagated from seeds. 

The Three-thorned Acacia ((?. triacantlios) is the prin- 
cipal species, and is indigenous to the states west of the 
Alleghanies. G. monosperma is another kind, which is 
scarcely distinguishable from the Three-thorned, except in 
having one-seeded pods. The seedlings raised from G. 
triacanthos are often entirely destitute of thorns. 

There is a fine species called the Chinese {G. horrida), 
with larger and finer foliage, and immense triple thorns, 
which is interesting from its great singularity. A tree of 
this kind which we imported, has stood our coldest winters 
perfectly uninjured, and promises to be beautiful and very 
hardy. Some noble specimens of the common Three- 
thorned Acacia may be seen upon the lawn at Hyde Park, 
the fine seat of the late Dr. Hosack. 



The Judas Tree. Cercis. 
Nat. Ord. Leguminosae. Lin. Syst. Decandria, Monogynia. 

A handsome low tree, about 20 feet in height, which is 



DECIDUOU8 ORNAMENTAL TREES. 203 

found scattered sparsely through warm sheltered valleys, 
along the Hudson and other rivers of the northern sections 
of the United States, but most abundantly on the Ohio. 
It is valuable as an ornamental tree, no less on account of 
its exceedingly neat foliage, which is exactly heart-shaped, 
or cordiform, and of a pleasing green tint, than for its 
jirctty pink blossoms. These, which are pea-shaped, are 
produced in little clusters close to the branches, often in 
great profusion, early in the spring, before the leaves have 
expanded. From the appearance of the limbs at that 
])eriod, it has in some places obtained the name of Red- 
hud. It is then one of the most ornamental of trees, and, 
in company with the Dog-wood, serves greatly to enliven 
the scene, and herald the advent of the floral season. 
These blossoms, according to Loudon {Encycl. of Plants), 
I'laving an agreeable poignancy, are frequently eaten in 
salads abroad, and pickled by the French families in 
Canada. The name of Judas tree appears to have been 
whimsically bestowed by Gerard, an old English gardener, 
who described it in 1596, and relates that "this is the tree 
whereon Judas did hange himselfe ; and not upon the elder 
tree, as it is said." 

There are two species in common cultivation ; the 
American (C Canadensis) and the European (C Sili- 
quastrum). The latler much resembles our native tree. 
The flowers, however, are deeper in color ; the leaves 
darker, and less pointed at the extremity. It also produces 
blossoms rather moi*e profusely than the American tree. 
Both species are highly worthy of a place in the garden, or 
near the house, where their pleasing vernal influences may 
be observed. 



204 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

The Chestnut Tree. Castanea. 

Nat. Ord. Corylaceae. Lin. Syst. Moncecia, Polyandria. 

The chestnut, for its quahties in Landscape Gardening,' 
ranks with that king of the forest, the oak. Like that tree, 
it attains an enormous si^e, and its longevity in some cases 
is almost equally remarkable. Its fine massy foliage, and 
sweet nuts, have rendered it a favorite tree since a very 
remote period. Among the ancients, the latter were a 
common article of food. 

" Sunt nobis mitia poma, 

Castanea molles, et pressi copia lactis." 

ViRG. EcL. 1. 

They appear to have been in general use, both in a raw 
and cooked state. In times of scarcity, they probably 
supplied in some measure the place of bread-stuffs, and 
were thence highly valued : , 

" As for the thrice three angled beech nut shell, 
Or Chestnut's armed huske and hid kernell, 
No squire durst touch, the law would not afford, 
Kept for the court, and for the king's own board." 

Bp. Hall, Sat. B. III. 1. 

Even to this day, in those parts of France and Italy 
nearest the great chestnut forests of the Appenines, these 
nuts form a large portion of the food which sustains the 
peasantry, where grain is but little cultivated, and potatoes 
almost unknown. There a sweet and highly nutritious 
flour is prepared from them, which makes a delicious 
bread. Large quantities of the fruit are therefore 
annually collected in those countries, and dried and stored 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREE^. 205 

away for the winter's coiisuiiiption. Old Evelyn says, 
" the bread of the flour is exceedingly nutritive : it is a 
robust food, and makes women well complexioned, as I 
have read in a good author. They also make fritters of 
chestnut flour, which they wet with rose-water, and 
sprinkle with grated parmigans, and so fry them in fresh 
butter for a delicate." The fruit of the chestnut abounds 
in saccharine matter ; and we learn from a French 
periodical, that experiments have been made, by which it 
is ascertained that the kernel yields nearly sixteen per 
cent, of good sugar. 

As a timber tree, this is greatly inferior to the oak, being 
looser grained, and more liable to decay ; and the 
American wood is more open to this objection than that 
produced on the opposite side of the Atlantic. It is, 
however, in general use among us, for posts and rails in 
fencing ; and when the former are charred, they are found 
to be quite durable. 

The finest natural situations for this tree appear to be 
the mountainous slopes of mild climates, where it attains 
the greatest possible perfection. Michaux informs us, that 
the most superb and lofty chestnuts in America are to be 
found in such situations, in the forests of the Carolinas. 
Abroad, every one will call to mind the far-famed chestnuts 
of Mount Etna, of wonderful age and extraordinary size. 
The great chestnut there, has excited the surprise of 
numerous travellers ; at present, however, it appears to be 
scarcely more than a mere shell, the wreck of former 
greatness. When visited by M. Houel (Arboretum Brit.), 
it was in a state of decay, having lost the greater part of 
its branches, and its trunk was quite hollow. A house was 
erected in the interior, and some country people resided in 



206 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

it, with an oven, in which, according to the custom of the 
country, they dried chestnuts, filberts, and other fruits. 
which they wished to preserve for winter use ; using as 
fuel, when they could find no other, pieces cut with a 
hatchet from the interior of the tree. In Brydone's time, 
in 1770, this tree measured two hundred and four feet in 
circumference. He says it had the appearance of five 
distinct trees ; but he was assured that the space was once 
filled with solid timber, and there was no bark on the 
inside. This circumstance of an old trunk, hollow in the 
interior, becoming separated so as to have the appearance 
of being the remains of several distinct trees, is frequently' 
met with in the case of very old mulberry trees in Great 
Britain, and olive trees in Italy. Kircher, about a century 
before Brydone, affirms that an entire flock of sheep might 
be inclosed within the Etna chestnut, as in a fold.* {Ar- 
boretum Brit. p. 1988.) 

In considering the chestnut as highly adapted to 
ornament the grounds of extensive country residences, 
much that we have already said of the oak will apply to 
this tree. When young, its smooth stem, clear and bright 
foliage, and lively aspect, when adorned with the numerous 
light greenish yellow blossoms, which project beyond the 
mass of leaves, render it a graceful and beautiful tree. 

* One of the most celebrated Chestnut trees on record, is that called the 
Tortworth Chestnut, in England. In 1772, Lord Ducie, the owner, had a 
portrait of it taken, which was accompanied by the following description : 
" The east view of the ancient Chestnut tree at Tortworth, in the county of 
Gloucester, which measures nineteen yards in circumference, and is mentioned 
by Sir Robert Aikins in his history of that county, as a famous tree in King 
John's reign :_ and by Mr. Evelyn in his Sylva, to have been so remarkable in 
the reign of King Stephen, 11.35, as then to be called the great Chestnut of 
Tortworth ; from which it may reasonably be presumed to have been standing 
before the Conquest, 1066." This tree is still standing. 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 207 

It has long been a favorite with the poets for its grateful 
shade ; and as the roots run deep, the soil beneath it is 
sufficiently rich and sheltered to afford an asylum for the 
minutest beauties of the woods. Tennyson sweetly 
says :— 

" That slope beneath the chestnut tall 
Is wooed with choicest breaths of air, 
Methinks that I could tell you all 
The cowslips and the king cups there." 

When old, its huge trunk, wide-spread branches, lofty head, 
and irregular outline, all contribute to render it a 
picturesque tree of the very first class. In that state, 
when standing alone, with free room to develope itself on 
every side, like the oak, it gives a character of dignity, 
majesty, and grandeur, to the scene, beyond the power of 
most trees to confer. It is well known that the favorite 
tree of Salvator Rosa, and one which was most frequently 
introduced with a singularly happy effect into his wild and 
picturesque compositions, was the chestnut ; sometimes 
a massy and bold group of its verdure, but oftener an old 
and storm-rifted giant, half leafless, or a barren trunk 
coated with a rich verdure of mosses and lichens. 

The chestnut in maturity, like the oak, has a great 
variety of outline ; and no trees are better fitted than 
these for the formation of grand groups, heavy masses, 
or wide outlines of foliage. A higher kind of beauty, with 
more dignity and variety, can be formed of these two 
genera of trees when dispo.sed in gi'and masses, than with 
any other forest trees of temperate climates ; perhaps we 
may say of any climate. 

There is so little difference in the common Sweel 
chestnut {Castanea vcsc-a) of both hemispheres, that they 



208 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

are generally considered the same species. Varieties have 
been produced in Europe, which far surpass our common 
chestnuts of the woods in size, though not in delicacy and 
richness of flavor. Those cultivated for the table in 
France, are known by the name of marrons. These 
improved sorts of the Spanish chestnut bear fruit nearly 
as large as that of the Horse-chestnut, inferior in 
sweetness, when raw, to our wild species, but delicious 
when roasted. The Spanish chestnut thrives well, and 
forms a large tree, south of the Highlands of the Hudson, 
but is rather tender north of this neighborhood. A tree 
in the grounds at Presque Isle, the seat of William 
Denning, Esq., Dutchess Co., is now 40 feet high. They 
may be procured from the nurseries, and we can hardly 
recommend to our planters more acceptable additions to 
our nut-bearing forest trees. 

The Chinquapin, or Dwarf chestnut (C pitmila), is 
a curious low bush, from four to six feet high. The leaves 
are nearly the size of the ordinary chestnut, or rather 
smaller, and the fruit about two-thirds as large. It is indi- 
genous to all the states south of Pennsylvania, and is often 
found in great abundance. It is a curious little tree, or 
more properly a shrub, and merits a place in the garden ; 
or it may be advantageously planted for underwood in 
a group of large trees. 

As the chestnut, like the oak, forms strong tap-roots, it is 
removed with some difficulty. The finest trees are pro- 
duced from the nut, and their growth is much more rapid 
when young, than that of the transplanted tree. It prefers 
a deep sandy loam, rather moist than dry ; and will not, 
like many forest trees, accommodate itself to wet and low 
situations. 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 209 

The Osage Orange Tree. Madura. 
Nat. Ord. Urticaceae. Lin. Syst. Dicecia, Tetrandria. 

This interesting tree is found growing wild on the 
Arkansas River, and other western tributaries of the 
Mississippi, south of St. Louis, where, according to Mr. 
Nuttall, it attains the height of 50 or 60 feet. The 
branches are rather light-colored, and armed with spines 
(produced at every joint) about an inch and a half long. 
The leaves are long, ovate, and acuminate, or pointed 
at the extremity ; they are deep green, and more glossy 
and bright than those of the orange. The blossoms are 
greenish ; and the fruit is about the shape and size of a 
large orange, but the surface much rougher than that fruit. 
In the south, we are told, it assumes a deep yellow color, 
and, at a short distance, strikingly resembles the common 
orange ; the specimens of fruit which we have seen 
growing in Philadelphia, did not assume that fine color ; 
but the appearance of the tree laden with it, is not unlike 
that of a large orange tree. It was first transplanted into 
our gardens from a village of the Osage tribe of Indians, 
whence the common name of Osage orange. The intro- 
duction of this tree was one of the favorable results of 
Lewis and Clarke's Expedition. It was named by them 
in honor of the late Wm. Maclure, Esq., President of the 
American Academy of Natural Sciences. 

The wood is fine grained, yellow in color, and takes 

a brilliant polish. It is also very strong and elastic, and on 

this account the Indians of the wide district to which 

this tree is indigenous, employ it extensively for bows, 

greatly preferring" it to any other timber. Hence its com- 

14 



210 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

mon name among the white inhabitants is Bodac, a cor- 
ruption of the term hois d'arc (bow-wood), of the French 
settlers. A fine yellow dye is extracted from the wood, 
similar to that of the Fustic. 

As the Osage orange belongs to the monoecious class of 
plants, it does not perfect its fruit unless both the male and 
female trees are growing in the same neighborhood. 
Many have believed the fruit to be eatable, both from its 
fine appearance, and from its affinity with and resemblance 
to that of the bread-fruit ; but all attempts to render it 
pleasant, either cooked or in a raw state, have hitherto 
failed : it is therefore probably inedible, though not injuri- 
ous. Perhaps when fully ripened, some mode of preparing 
it by baking or otherwise, ma}^ render it palatable. 

As an ornamental tree, the Osage orange is rather too 
loose in the disposition of its wide-spreading branches, to be 
called beautiful in its form. But the bright glossy hue of 
its foliage, and especially the unique appearance of a good 
sized tree when covered with the large, orange-like fruit, 
render it one of the most interesting of our native trees ; 
while it has the same charm of rarity as an exotic, since it 
was introduced from the far west, and is yet but little 
planted in the United States. On a small lawn, where but 
few trees are needed, and where it is desirable that the 
species employed should all be as distinct as possible, to 
give the whole as much variety as can be obtained in 
a limited space, such trees should be selected as will not 
only be ornamental, but combine some other charm, 
association, or interest. Among such trees, we would by 
all means give the Osage orange a foremost place. It has 
the additional recommendation of being a fine shade tree, 
and of producing an excellent and durable wood. 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES, 211 

The stout growth and strong thorns of this tree have 
been thought indicative of its usefulness for the making of 
hedges : a method of fencing, which sooner or later must 
be adopted in many parts of this country : and from the 
experiments which we have seen made with plants of the 
Osage orange, we think it likely to answer a very valuable 
purpose ; especially in the middle and southern states. 
The Messrs. Landreth of Philadelphia have lately offered 
many thousands of them to the public at a low rate, and 
we hope to see the matter fairly tested in various parts of 
the Union. 

A rich deep loam is the soil best adapted to the growth 
of this tree ; and as it is rather tender when young (though 
quite hardy when it attains a considerable size) it should, 
as far as possible, be planted in a rather sheltered situation. 
A dry soil is preferable, if it must be placed in a cold 
aspect, as all plants not perfectly hardy are much injured 
by the late growth, caused by an excess of moisture and 
consequent upon an immature state of the wood, which is 
unable to resist the effects of a severe winter. 



The Mulberry Tree. Morus. 

Nat. Ord. Urticaceae. Lin. Syst. Monoecia, Tetrandria. 

The three principal species of the Mulberry, are the 
common Red American, the European Black, and the 
White mulberries. None of them are truly handsome in 
scenery ; and the two latter are generally low spreading 
trees, valued entirely for the excellency of the fruit, or the 



212 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

suitableness of the foliage for feeding silkworms. Our 
common mulberry, however, in free, open situations, forms 
a large, wide-spreading, horizontally branched, and not 
inelegant tree : the rough, heart-shaped leaves with which 
it is thickly clothed, afford a deep shade ; and it groups well 
with the lime, the catalpa, and many other round-headed 
trees. We consider it, therefore, duly entitled to a place 
in all extensive plantations ; while the pleasant flavor of 
its slightly acid, dark red fruit, will recommend it to those 
who wish to add to the delicacies of the dessert. The 
timber of our wild mulbeny tree is of the very first quality ; 
when fully seasoned, it takes a dull lemon-colored hue, and 
is scarcely less durable than the locust or Live oak. Like 
those trees, it is much valued by ship-builders ; and at 
Philadelphia and Baltimore it commands a high price, for 
the frame-work, knees, floor-timbers, and tree-nails of 
vessels. The Red mulberry is much slower in its growth 
than the locust ; but so far as we are aware it is not liable 
to the attacks of any insect destructive to its timber ; and 
it would probably be found profitable to cultivate it as a 
timber tree. The locust, it will be remembered, grows 
thriftily only on peculiar soils, loose, dry, and mellow ; the 
Red mulberry prefers deep, moist, and rich situations. No 
extensive experiments, so far as we can learn, have been 
made in its culture ; but we would recommend it to the 
particular attention of those who have facilities for planta- 
tions of this kind. 

The Black mulberry of Europe (Morus nigra) is a low, 
slow-growing tree, with rough leaves, somewhat resembling 
those of our Red mulberry, but more coarsely serrated, and 
often found divided into four or five lobes ; while the leaves, 
which are not heart-shaped on our native species, are gene- 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 213 

rally three-lobed. The European mulberry bears a fruit 
four or five times as large as the American, full of rich, 
sweet juice. It has long been a favorite in England, and 
is one of the most healthy and delicious fruits of the season. 
Glover says : 

" There the flushing peach, 



The apple, citron, almond, pear, and date. 
Pomegranates, purple mulberry, and fig. 
From interlacing branches mi-^c their hues 
And scents, the passengers' delight." 

Leonid. B. II. 

We regret that so excellent a fruit should be so little 
cultivated here. It succeeds extremely well in the middle 
states ; and as it ripens at the very period in midsummer 
when fruits are scarcest, there can be no more welcome 
addition to our pomonal treasures, than its deep purple and 
luscious berries. According to Loudon, it is a tree of great 
durability ; in proof of which he quotes a specimen at Sion 
House, 300 years old, which is supposed to have been 
planted in the 16th century by the botanist Turner. 

The White mulberry (M. alba) is the species upon the 
leaves of which the silkworms are fed. The fruit is insipid 
and tasteless, and the tree is but little cultivated to embellish 
ornamental plantations, though one of the most useful in 
the world, when its importance in the production of silk is 
taken into account. There are a great number of varieties 
of this species to be found in the different nurseries and silk 
plantations ; among them the Chinese mulberry (M. multi- 
caulis) grows rapidly, but scarcely forms more than a large 
shrub at the north ; and its very large, tender, and soft 
green foliage is interesting in a large collection. The fruit 
is, we believe, of no importance ; but it is the most valuable 



214 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

of all mulberries as food for the silkworm, while its growth 
is the most vigorous, and its leaves more easily gathered 
than those of any other tree of the genus. 



The Paper Mulberry Tree. Broussonetia. 
Nat. Ord. Urticaceee. Lin. Sy-st. Dioecia, Tetrandria. 

The Paper mulberry is an exotic tree of a low growth, 
rarely exceeding twenty-five or thirty feet, indigenous to 
Japan and the South Sea Islands, but very common in our 
gardens. It is remarkable for the great variety of forms 
exhibited in its foliage ; as upon young trees it is almost 
impossible to find two exactly alike, though the prevailing 
outhnes are either heart-shaped, or more or less deeply cut 
or lobed. These leaves are considered valueless for feed- 
ing the silkworm ; but in the South Seas the bark is woven 
into dresses worn by the females ; and in China and Japan 
extensive use is made of it in the manufacture of a paper 
of the softest and most beautiful texture. This is fabricated 
from the inner bark of the young shoots, which is first boiled 
to a soft pulp, and then submitted to processes greatly 
similar to those performed in our paper-mills. This tree 
blossoms in spring and ripens its fruit in the month of 
August. The latter is dark scarlet, and quite singular and 
ornamental, though of no value. The genus is dicecious ; 
and the reason why so few fruit-bearing trees are seen in 
the United States, is because we generally cultivate only 
one of the sexes, the female. M. Parmentier, however, who 
introduced the male plant from Europe, disseminated it in 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 215 

several parts of the country ; and the beauty of the tree 
has thereby been augmented by the intei'est which it 
possesses when laden with its long, hairy berries. 

The value of the Paper mulberry, in ornamental planta- 
tions, arises from its exotic look, as compared with other 
trees, from the singular diversity of its foliage, the beauty 
of its reddish berries, and from the rapidity of its growth. 
It is deficient in hardiness for a colder climate than that of 
New York ; but further south it is considerably esteemed 
as a shade-tree for lining the side-walks in cities. In win- 
ter its light fawn or ash-colored bark, mottled with patches 
of a darker grey, contrasts agreeably with other trees. It 
has little picturesque beauty, and should never be planted 
in quantities, but only in scattered specimens, to give 
interest and variety to a walk in the lawn or shrubbery. 



The Sweet Gum Tree. Liquidambar . 
Nat. Ord. Platanacea. Lin. Syst. MonoBcia, Polyandria. 

According to Michaux,* the Sweet gum is one of our 
most extensively diffused trees. On the seashore it is seen 
as far north as Portsmouth ; and it extends as far south as 
the Gulf of Mexico and the Isthmus of Darien. In many 
of the southern states it is one of the commonest trees of the 
forest ; it is rarely seen, however, along the banks of the 
Hudson (except in New Jersey), or other large streams of 
New York. It is not unlike the maple in general appear- 
ance, and its palmate, five-lobed leaves are in outline much 

• N. A. Sylva, i. 315. 



216 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

like the Sugar maple, though darker in color and firmer in 
texture. It may also be easily distinguished from that tree, 
by the curious appearance of its secondary branches, which 
have a peculiar roughness, owing to the bark attaching 
itself in plates edgewise to the trunk, instead of laterally, as 
in the usual manner. The fruit is globular, somewhat 
resembling that of the buttonwood, but much rougher, and 
bristling with points. The male and female catkins appear 
on different branches of the same tree early in spring. 

This tree grows in gi'eat perfection in the forests of New 
Spain. It was first described by a Spanish naturalist. Dr. 
Hernandez, who observed that a fragrant and transparent 
gum issued from its trunk in that country, to which, from 
its appearance, he gave the name of liquid amber. This is 
now the common name of the tree in Europe ; and the gum 
is at present an article of export from Mexico, being chiefly 
valued in medicine as a styptic, and for its healing and 
balsamic properties. " This substance, which in the shops 
is sometimes called the white balsam of Peru, or liquid 
storax, is, when it first issues from the tree, perfectly liquid 
and clear, white, with a slight tinge of yellow, quite bal- 
samic ; and having a most agreeable fragrance, resembling 
that of ambergris or styrax. It is stimulant and aromatic, 
and has long been used in France as a perfume, especially 
for gloves."* In the middle states a fragrant substance 
sometimes exudes from the leaves, and, by incision, small 
quantities of the gum may be procured from the trunk ; but 
a warmer climate appears to be necessary to its production 
in considerable quantities. 

We hardly know a more beautiful tree than the Liquid 

* Aiboretum Brit. 2051. 




DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAI. TREES. 217 

amber in every stage of its growth, and during every season 
of the year. Its outline is not picturesque or graceful, but 
simply beautiful, more approaching that of the maple than 
any other : it is, therefore, a highly pleasing, round-headed 
or tapering tree, which unites and harmonizes well with 
almost any others in composition ; but the chief beauty lies 
in the foliage. During the whole of the summer months 
it preserves, unsoiled, that dark glossy freshness which is 
so delightful to the eye ; while the singular, regularly palmate 
form of the leaves readily distinguishes it from the common 
trees of a plantation. But in autumn it assumes its gayest 
livery, and is decked in colors almost too bright and vivid 
for foliage ; forming one of the most brilliant objects in 
American scenery at that period of the year. The pre- 
vailing tint of the foliage is then a deep purplish red, unlike 
any symptom of decay, and quite as rich as is commonly 
seen in the darker blossoms of a Dutch parterre. This is 
sometimes varied by a shade deeper or lighter, and occa- 
sionally an orange tint is assumed. When planted in the 
neighborhood of our fine maples, ashes, and other trees 
remarkable for their autumnal coloring, the effect, in a 
warm^/dry autunni, is almost magical. Whoever has 
tr^'/elled through what are called the pine barrens of New 
ersey in such a season, must have been struck with the 
gay tints of the numberless forest trees, which line the 
roads through those sandy plains, and with the conspicuous 
beauty of the Sweet gum, or Liquidamber. 

The bark of this tree when full grown, or nearly so, is 
exceedingly rough and furrowed, like that of the oak. The 
wood is fine-grained, and takes a good polish in cabinet 
work ; though it is not so durable, nor so much esteemed 
for such purposes, as that of the Black walnut and some 



218 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

Other native trees. The average height of full grown trees 
is about 35 or 40 feet. 

Liquidambar styracijlua is the only North American 
species. It grows most rapidly in moist or even wet situa- 
tions, though it will accommodate itself to a drier soil. 



The Walnut Tree. Juglans. 
Nat. Ord. Juglandaceae. Lin. Syst. Moncecia, Polyandria. 

The three trees which properly come under this head, 
and belong to the genus Juglans, are the Black walnut, the 
European walnut, and the Butternut. 

The Black walnut is one of the largest trees of our native 
forests. In good soils it often attains a stature of 60 or 70 
feet, and a diameter of three or four feet in the trunk, with 
a corresponding amplitude of branches. The leaves, about 
a foot or eighteen inches in length, are composed of six or 
eight pairs of opposite leaflets, terminated by an odd one. 
They contain a very strong aromatic odor, which is emitted 
plentifully when they are bruised. The large nut, always 
borne on the extremity of the young shoots, is round, and 
covered with a thick husk ; which, instead of separating 
into pieces, and falling off" like those of the hickory, rots 
away and decays gradually. The kernel of the Black 
walnut, too well known to need any description here, is 
highly esteemed, and is even considered by some persons 
to possess a finer flavor than any other walnut. 

The timber of this tree is very valuable : when well sea- 
soned it is as durable as the White oak, and is less liable 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 219 

to the attacks of sea-worms, etc., than ahnost any other; it 
is, therefore, highly esteemed in naval architecture for 
certain purposes. But its great value is in cabinet work. 
Its color, when exposed to the air, is a fine, rich, dark 
brown, beautifully veined in certain parts ; and as it takes 
a brilliant polish, it is coming into general use in the 
United States for furniture, as well as for the interior 
finishing of houses. 

The Black walnut has strong claims upon the Landscajje 
Gardener, as it is one of the grandest and most massive 
trees which he can employ. When full grown it is scarcely 
inferior in the boldness of its ramification or the amplitude 
of its head to the oak or chestnut ; and what it lacks in 
spirited outline when compared with those trees, is fully 
compensated, in our estimation, by its superb and heavy 
masses of foliao;e, which catch and throw off the broad 
lights and shadows in the finest manner. When the Black 
walnut stands alone on a deep fertile soil it becomes a truly 
majestic tree ; and its lower branches often sweep the 
ground in a graceful curve, which gives additional beauty 
to its whole expression. It is admirably adapted to exten- 
sive lawns, parks, or plantations, where there is no want 
of room for the attainment of its full size and fair propor- 
tions. Its rapid growth and umbrageous foliage also 
recommend it for wide public streets and avenues. 

The European walnut (/. ixgia), or, as it is generally 
termed here, the Madeira nut, is one of the most common 
cultivated trees of Europe, where it was introduced origi- 
nally from Persia. It differs from our Black walnut (which, 
however, it much resembles) in the smooth, grey bark of 
the stem, the leaves composed of three or four -pair of 
leaflets, and in the very thin-shelled fruit, which, though 



220 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

not exceeding the Black walnut in size, yet contains a 
much larger kernel, which is generally considered more 
delicate in flavor. In the interior of France orchards of 
the walnut are planted, and a considerable commerce is 
carried on in its products, consisting chiefly of the fruit, of 
which large quantities are consumed in all parts of Europe. 
The wood is greatly used in the manufacture of gun-stocks, 
and in cabinet-making (though it is much inferior to the 
American walnut for this purpose) ; and the oil extracted 
from the kernel is in high estimation for mixing with deli- 
cate colors used in painting and other purposes. 

The European walnut is a noble tree in size, and thickly 
clad in foliage. It is much esteemed as a shade tree by the 
Dutch ; and Evelyn, who is an enthusiastic admirer of its 
beauties, mentions their fondness for this tree as in the high- 
est degree praiseworthy. " The Bergstras \Bergstrasse\, 
which extends from Heidelberg to Darmstadt, is all planted 
with walnuts ; for as by an ancient law the Borderers were 
obliged to nurse up and take care of them, and that chiefly 
for their ornament and shade, so as a man may ride for 
many miles about that country under a continual arbor or 
close walk, — the traveller both refreshed with the fruit and 
shade. How much such public plantations improve the 
glory and wealth of a nation ! In several places betwixt 
Hanau and Frankfort in Germany, no young farmer is 
permitted to marry a wife till he bring proof that he hath 
planted, and is the father of a stated number of walnut 
trees."* 

The nuts are imported into this country in great 

* Hunter's Evelyn, p. 168. 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 221 

quantities ; and as they are chiefly brought from Spain 
and the Madeiras, they are here ahnost entirely known by 
the name of the Madeira nut. The tree is Init little 
cultivated among us, though higlily deserving more 
extensive favor, both on account of its value and beauty. 
It grows well in the climate of the middle states, and bears 
freely ; a specimen eighteen or twenty years old, in the 
garden of the author, has reached thirtv-five feet in height, 
and bears two or three bushels of fine fruit annually ; from 
which we have already propagated several hundred 
individuals. It is not perfectly hardy north of this. 

As an ornamental tree, Gilpin remarks, that the warm 
russet hue of its young foliage makes a pleasing variety 
among the vivid green of other trees, about the end of 
May ; and the same variety is maintained in summer, by 
the contrast of its yellowish hue, when mixed in any 
quantity with trees of a darker tint. It stands best alone, 
as the early loss of its foliage is then of less consequence, 
and its ramification is generally beautiful. 

The Butternut (/. cathai^tica) belongs to this section, 
and is chiefly esteemed for its fruit, which abounds in oil, 
and is very rich and sweet. The foliage somewhat 
resembles that of the Black walnut, though the leaflets are 
smaller and narrower. The form of the nut, however, is 
strikingly different, being oblong, oval, and narrowed to a 
point at the extremity. Unlike ths walnut, the husk is 
covered with a sticky gum, and the surface of the nut is 
much rougher than any other of the walnut genus. The 
bark of the butternut is grey, and the tops of old trees 
generally have a flattened appearance. It is frequently 
an uncouth, ill-shapen, and ugly tree in form, though 



222 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

occasionally, also, quite striking and picturesque. And it 
is well worthy of a place for the excellence of its fruit.* 



The Hickory Tree. Carya. 
Nat. Ord. Juglandaceae. Lin. Syst. MoncEcia, Polyandria. 

The hickories are fine and lofty North American trees, 
highly valuable for their wood, and the excellent fruit 
borne by some of the species. The timber is extremely 
elastic, and very heavy, possessing great strength and 
tenacity. It is not much employed in architecture, as it is 
peculiarly liable to the attacks of worms, and decays 
quickly when exposed to moisture. But it is very exten- 
sively employed for all purposes requiring great elasticity 
and strength ; as for axletrees, screws, the wooden rings 
used upon the rigging of vessels, whip-handles, and axe- 
handles ; and an immense quantity of the young poles are 
employed in the manufacture of hoops, for which they 
are admirably adapted. 

For fuel, no American wood is equal to this in the 
brijliancy with which it burns, or in the duration or amount 
of heat given out by it : it therefore commands the highest 
price in market for that purpose. 

The hickories are nearly allied to the walnuts; the 

* Loudon errs greatly in his Arboretum, in supposing the butternut to be 
identical with the Black walnut : no trees in the whole American forest are 
more easily distinguished at first sight. He also states the fruit to be rancid 
and of little value ; but no American lad of a dozen years will accord with 
him in this opinion. 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 223 

chief botanical distinction consisting in tiie covering to 
the nut, or husk ; which in the hickories separates into 
four valves, or pieces, when ripe, instead of adhering in a 
homogeneous coat, as upon the Black walnut and butter- 
nut. In size and appearance, the hickories rank with the 
first class of forest trees ; most of them growing 
vigorously to the height of GO or 80 feet, with fine straight 
trunks, well balanced and ample heads, and handsome, 
lively, pinnated foliage. When confined among other 
trees in the forest, they shoot up 50 or 60 feet without 
branches ; but when standing singly, they expand into a 
fine head near the ground and produce a noble, lofty 
pyramid of foliage, rather rounded at the top. They have 
all the qualities which are necessary to constitute fine, 
graceful park trees, and are justly entitled to a place in 
every considerable plantation. 

The most ornamental species are the Shellbark hickory, 
the Pignut, and the Pecan-nut. The former and the latter 
produce delicious nuts, and are highly worthy of 
cultivation for their fruit alone ; while all of them assume 
very handsome shapes during every stage of their growth, 
and ultimately become noble trees. Varieties of the 
Shellbark hickory are sometimes seen producing nuts of 
twice or thrice the ordinary size ; and we have not the 
least doubt that the fruit might be so improved in size and 
delicacy of flavor by careful cultivation, as greatly to 
surpass the European walnut, for the table. This result 
will probably be attained by planting the nuts of the finest 
varieties found in our woods, in rich moist soil, kept in 
high cultivation ; as all improved varieties of fruit have 
been produced in this way, and not, as many suppose, by 
cultivating the original species. These remarks also 



224 LANDSCAPE GARDENING, 

apply to the Pecan-nut ; a western sort, which thrives well 
in the middle states, and which produces a nut more 
delicate in flavor than any other of this continent. 

These trees form strong tap-roots, and are, therefore, 
somewhat difficult to transplant ; but they are easily 
reared from the nut ; and, for the reason stated above, this 
method should be adopted in preference to any other, 
except in particular cases. 

The principal species of the hickory are the following : 

The Shellbark hichory (C. aiha), so called on account 
of the roughness of its bark, which is loosened from the 
trunk in long scales or pieces, bending outwards at the 
extremity, and remaining attached by the m.iddle ; this 
takes place, however, only on trees of some size. The 
leaves are composed of two pair of leaflets, with an odd or 
terminal one. The scales which cover the buds of the 
Shellbark in winter, adhere only to the lower half, while 
the upper half of the bud is left uncovered, by which this 
sort is readily distinguished from the other species. The 
hickory nuts of our markets are the product of this tree ; 
they arc much esteemed in every part of the Union, and 
are exported in considerable quantities to Europe. Among 
many of the descendants of the original Dutch settlers of 
New York and New Jersey, the fruit is commonly known 
by the appellation of the Kishj-tom nut* 

The Pecan-nut (Pacainer of the French), (C olivcsfor- 
mis) is found only in the western states. It abounds on 
the Missouri, Arkansas, Wabash, and Illinois Rivers, and 

* In some parts, pleasant social parties which meet at stated tanes during 
the winter season, are called Kisky-tom.?, from the regular appearance of these 
nuts among the refreshments of the evenJn;;. 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 225 

a portion of the Ohio : Michaux states that there is a 
swamp of 800 acres on the right bank of the Ohio, 
opposite the Cumberland river, entirely covered w^ith it. 
It is a handsome, stalely tree, about 60 or 70 feet in height, 
with leaves a foot or eighteen inches long, composed of 
six or seven pairs of leaflets much narrower than those 
of our hickories. The nuts are contained in a thin, 
somewhat four-sided husk ; they are about an inch or an 
inch and a half long, smooth, cylindrical, and thin-shelled. 
The kernel is not, like most of the hickories, divided by 
partitions, and it has a very delicate and agreeable flavor. 
They form an object of petty commerce between Upper 
and Lower Louisiana. From New Orleans, they are 
exported to the West Indies, and to the ports of the 
United States.* 

Besides these two most valuable species, our forests 
produce the Pignut hickory (C. porcina), a lofty tree with 
five to seven pairs of leaflets, so called from the compara- 
tive worthlessness of its fruit ; which is very thick-shelled, 
and generally is left on the ground for the swine, squirrels, 
etc., to devour. It is easily distinguished in winter by the 
smaller size of its brown shoots, and its small oval buds. 
Its wood is considered the toughest and strongest of any 
of the trees of this section. The thick Shellbark hickory 
((7. laciniosa) resembles much in size and appearance the 
common Shellbark ; but the nuts are double the size, the 
shell much thicker and yellowish, while that of the latter 
is white. It is but little known except west of the 
Alleghanies. The Mockernut hickory (C tomentosa) is 
so called from the deceptive appearance of the nuts, 



* N. A. Sylva, i. 168. 
15 



226 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

which are generally of large size, but contain only a very 
small kernel. The leaves are composed of but four pairs 
of sessile leaflets, with an odd one at the end. The trunk 
of the old trees is very rugged, and the wood is one of the 
best for fuel. 

The Bitternut hickory {C amarci), sometimes called the 
White hickory, grows 60 feet high in New Jersey. The 
husk which covers the nut of this species, has four winged 
appendages on its upper half, and never hardens like the 
other sorts, but becomes soft and decays. The shell is 
thin, but the kernel is so bitter that even the squirrels 
refuse to eat it. The Water Bitternut (C aquatica) is a 
very inferior sort, growing in the swamps and rice fields 
of the southern states. The leaflets are serrated, and 
resemble in shape the leaves of the peach tree. Both the 
fruit and timber are much inferior to those of all the other 
hickories. 



The Mountain Ash Tree. Pyrus* 
Nat. Ord. Rosaceae. Lin. Syst. Icosandria, Di-Pentagynia. 

The European Mountain ash {Pyrus aucuparia) is an 
elegant tree of the medium size, with an erect stem, 
smooth bark, and round head. The leaves are pinnated, 
four or five inches in length, and slightly resemble those 
of the ash. The snow-white flowers are produced in large 
flat clusters, in the month of May, which are thickly 

* Sorhus of the old Botanists. 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 227 

scattered over the outer surface of the tree, and give it a 
lively appearance. These are succeeded by nuniei^ous 
bunches of berries, which in autumn turn to a brilliant 
scarlet, and are then highly ornamental. For the sake of 
these berries, this tree is a great favorite with birds ; and 
in Germany it is called the Vogel Beerbaum, i. e. bird's 
berry tree, and is inuch used by bird catchers to bait their 
springs with. 

Twenty-five feet is about the average height of the 
Mountain ash in this country. Abroad it grows more 
vigorously ; and in Scotland, where it is best known by the 
name of the Roan or Rowan tree, it sometimes reaches the 
altitude of 35 or 40 feet. The lower classes throughout 
the whole of Britain, for a long time attributed to its 
branches the power of being a sovereign charm against 
witches ; and Sir Thomas Lauder informs us that this 
superstition is still in existence in many parts of the High- 
lands, as well as in Wales. It is probable that this tree 
was a great favorite with the Druids ; for it is often seen 
growing near their ancient mystical circles of stones. The 
dairymaid, in many parts of England, still preserves the old 
custom of driving her cows to pasture with a switch of the 
roan tree, which she believes has the power to shield them 
from all evil spells.* " Evelyn mentions that it is cus- 
tomary in Wales to plant this tree in churchyards ; and 
Miss Kent in her Sylvan Sketches, makes the following 
remarks : — ' In former times this tree was supposed to be 
possessed of the property of driving away witches and evil 
spirits ; and this property is alluded to in one of the stanzas 
of a very ancient song, called the Laidley Worm of Spin- 
dlcton's Heughs. . 

* Lightt'oot, Flora Scotica. 



228 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

' Their spells were vain ; the boys retum'd 
To the Queen in sorrowful mood. 
Crying that " witches have no power 
Wliere there is rowan-tree wood ?" 

" The last line of this stanza leads to the true reading of a 
stanza in Shakspeare's tragedy of Macbeth. The sailor's 
wife, on the witch's requesting some chestnuts, hastily 
answers, ' A rown-tree, witch !' — ^but many of the editions 
have it, ' aroint thee, witch !' which is nonsense, and evi- 
dently a corruption."* 

The European Mountain ash is quite a favorite with 
cultivators here, and deservedly so. Its foliage is extremely 
neat, its blossoms pretty, and its blazing red hemes in 
autumn communicate a cheerfulness to the season, and 
harmonize happily with the gay tints of our native forest 
trees. It is remarkably well calculated for small planta- 
tions or collections, as it gi'ows in almost any soil or situa- 
tion, takes but little room, and is always interesting. " In 
the Scottish Highlands," says Gilpin, " on some rocky 
mountain covered with dark pines and waving birch, which 
cast a solemn gloom on the lake below, a few Mountain 
ashes joining in a clump and mixing with them, have a fine 
effect. In summer the light green tint of their foliage, and 
in autumn the glowing berries which hang cjustering upon 
them, contrast beautifully with the deeper green of the 
pines : and if they are happily blended, and not in too large 
a proportion, they add some of the most picturesque furni- 
ture with which the sides of those rugged mountains are 
invested." We have seen the Mountain ash, here, display- 
ing itself in great beauty, mingled with a group of hemlocks, 
from among the deep green foliage of which, the coral 

* Arboretum et Fraticetum, p. 918. 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 229 

berries of the former seemed to shoot out ; their color 
heightened by the dark back ground of evergreen 
boughs. 

The American Mountain ash {Pyrus Americana) is a 
native of the mountains along the banks of the Hudson, and 
other cold and elevated situations in the north of the United 
States : on the Catskill we have seen some handsome speci- 
mens near the Mountain House ; but generally it does not 
grow in so comely a shape, or form so handsome a tree 
as the foreign sort. In the general appearance of the leaves 
and blossoms, however, it so nearly resembles the European 
as to be thought merely a variety by some botanists. The 
chief difference between them appears to be in the color 
of the fruit, which on our native tree is copper colored or 
dull purplish red. It may probably assume a handsome 
shape when cultivated. 

The Sorb or Service tree {Pyrus Sorbus) is an interest- 
ing species of Pyrus, a native of Europe, which is sometimes 
seen in our gardens, and deserves a place for its handsome 
foliage and its clusters of fruit ; which somewhat resemble 
those of the Mountain ash, and are often eaten when in a 
state of incipient decay. The leaves are coarser than those 
of the Mountain ash, and the tree is larger, often attaining 
the height of 50 or 60 feet in its native soil. 

The White Beam (Pyrus Aria) is another foreign species, 
also bearing bunches of handsome scarlet berries, and clus- 
ters of white flowers. The leaves, however, are not pin- 
nated, but simply serrated on the margin. It grows 30 feet 
high, and as the foliage is dark green on the upper side, and 
downy white beneath, it presents an effect greatly resem- 
bling that of the Silver poplar in a slight breeze. Abroad, 



230 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

the timber is considered valuable ; but here it is chiefly- 
planted to produce a pleasing variety among other trees, by 
its peculiar foliage, and scarlet autumnal fruit. 

All the foregoing trees grow naturally in the highest, 
most exposed, and often almost barren situations. When, 
however, a rapid growth is desired, they should be planted 
in a more moist and genial soil. They are easily propagated 
from the seed, and some of the sorts may be grafted on the 
pear or hawthorn. The seeds, in all cases, should be sown 
in autumn. 



The Ailantus Tree. Ailanius. 

Nat. Ord. Xanthoxylaceae. Lin. Syst. Polygamia, Monoecia. 

Ailanto is the name of this tree in the Moluccas, and is 
said to signify Tree of Heaven ; an appellation probably 
bestowed on account of the rapidity of its growth, and the 
great height which it reaches in the East Indies, its native 
country. When quite young it is not unlike a sumac in 
appearance ; but the extreme rapidity of its growth and the 
great size of its pinnated leaves, four or five feet long, soon 
distinguish it from that shrub. During the first half dozen 
years it outstrips almost any other deciduous tree in vigor 
of growth, and we have measured leading stems which had 
grown twelve or fifteen feet in a single season. In four or 
five years, therefore, it forms quite a bulky head, but after 
that period it advances more slowly, and in 20 years would 
probably be overtopped by the poplar, the plane, or any 
other fast growing tree. There are, as yet, no specimens 
in this country more than 70 feet high ; but the trunk shoots 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 231 

up in a fine column, and the head is massy and irregular in 
outline. In this country it is planted purely for ornament, 
but we learn that in Europe its wood has been applied to 
cabinet work ; for which, from its close grain and bright 
satin-like lustre, it is well adapted.* The male and female 
flowers are borne on separate trees, and both sexes are now 
common, especially in New York. The male forms the 
finer ornamental tree, the female being rather low, and 
spreading in its head. 

In New York and Philadelphia, the Ailantus is more 
generally known by the name of the Celestial tree, and is 
much planted in the streets and public squares. For such 
situations it is admirably adapted, as it will insinuate its 
strong roots into the most meagre and barren soil, where 
few other trees will grow, and soon produce an abundance 
of foliage and fine shade. It appears also to be perfectly 
free from insects ; and the leaves, instead of dropping 
slowly, and for a long time, fall off almost immediately 
when frost commences. 

The Ailantus is a picturesque tree, well adapted to 
produce a good effect on the lawn, either singly or grouped ; 
as its fine long foliage catches the light well, and contrasts 
strikingly with that of the round-leaved trees. It has a 
troublesome habit of producing suckers, however, which 
must exclude it from every place but a heavy sward, where 
the surface of the ground is never stirred by cultivation. 

The branches of this tree are entirely destitute of the 
small spray so common on most forest trees, and have a 
singularly naked look in winter, well calculated to fix the 
attention of the spectator at that dreary season. 

* Annales de la Societe d'Horticulturo. 



232 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

The largest Ailantus trees in America are growing 
in Rhode Island, where it was introduced from China, 
under the name of the Tillou tree. It has since been 
rapidly propagated by suckers, and is now one of the 
commonest ornamental trees sold in the nurseries. The 
finest trees, however, are those raised from seed. 



The Kentucky Coffee Tree. Gymnocladus. 
Nat. Ord. Leguminosae. Lin. Syst. Dioecia, Decandria. 

This unique tree is found in the western part of the 
State of New York, and as far north as Montreal, in 
Canada. But it is seen in the greatest perfection, in the 
fertile bottoms of Kentucky and Tennessee. Sixty feet is 
the usual height of the Coffee tree in those soils ; and 
judging from specimens growing under our inspection, it 
will scarcely fall short of that altitude, in well cultivated 
situations, anywhere in the middle states. 

When in full foliage, this is a very beautiful tree. The 
whole leaf, doubly compound and composed of a gi'eat 
number of bluish-green leaflets, is generally three feet long, 
and of two-thirds that width on thrifty ttees ; and the 
whole foliage hangs in a well-rounded mass, that would 
look almost too heavy, were it not lightened in effect by 
the loose, tufted appearance of each individual leaf The 
flowers, which are white, are borne in loose spikes, in 
the beginning of summer ; and are succeeded by ample 
brown pods, flat and somewhat curved, which contain six 
or seven large grey seeds, imbedded in a sweet pulpy 
substance. As the genus is dicecious, it is necessary that 



DECIDUOU3 ORNAMENTAL TREES. 233 

both sexes of this tree should be growing near each other, 
in order to produce seed. 

When Kentucky was first settled by the adventurous 
pioneers from the Atlantic States, who commenced their 
career in the primeval wilderness, almost without the 
necessaries of life, except as produced by them from the 
fertile soil, they fancied that they had discovered a 
substitute for coffee in the seeds of this tree, and 
accordingly the name of Coffee tree was bestowed upon 
it : but when a communication was established with the 
seaports, they gladly relinquished their Kentucky beverage 
for the more grateful flavor of the Indian plant ; and no 
use is at present made of it in that manner. It has,' 
however, a fine, compact wood, highly useful in building or 
cabinet-work. 

The Kentucky Coffee tree is well entitled to a place in 
every collection. In summer, its charming foliage and 
agreeable flowers render it a highly beautiful lawn tree ; 
and in winter, it is certainly one of the most novel trees, 
in appearance, in our whole native sylva. Like the 
Ailantus, it is entirely destitute of small spray, but it also 
adds to this the additional singularity of thick, blunt, 
terminal branches, without any perceptible buds. Alto- 
gether it more resembles a dry, dead, and withered 
combination of sticks, than a living and thrifty tree. 
Although this would be highly monotonous and displeasing, 
Avere it the common appearance of our deciduous trees 
in winter ; yet, as it is not so, but a rare and very unique 
exception to the usual beautiful diversity of spray and 
ramification, it is highly interesting to place such a tree as 
the present in the neighborhood of other full-sprayed 
species, where the curiosity which it excites will add 



234 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



greatly to its value as an interesting object at that period 
of the year.* 




[Fig. 38. The Kentucky Coffee Tree.] 

The seeds vegetate freely, and the tree is usually 
propagated in that manner. It prefers a rich, strong soil, 
like most trees of the western states. 



The Willow Tree, Salix. 

Nat. Ord. Salicacete. Lin. Syst. Dicecia, Diandria. 

A very large genus, comprising plants of almost every 

* There are some very fine specimens upoa the lawn at Dr. Hosack's seat, 
Hyde Park, N. Y., which have fruited for a number of years. See Fig. 38. 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 235 

Stature, IVom minute shrubs of three or four inches in 
height, to lofty and wide-spreading trees of fifty or sixty 
feet.* They are generally remarkable for their narrow 
leaves, and slender, round, and flexible branches. 

There are few of these willows which are adapted to 
add to the beauty of artificial scenery ; but among them 
are three or four trees, which, from their peculiar 
character, deserve especial notice. These are the Weep- 
ing, or Babylonian willow {Salix Bahylonica), the White, 
or Huntington willow {S. alba), the Golden willow 
(*S'. vitellina), the Russell willow {S. Russelliana), and the 
profuse Flowering willow {S. caprea). 

The above are all foreign sorts, which, however (except 
the last), have long ago been introduced, and are now 
quite common in the United States. All of them except 
the first, have an upright or wavy, spreading growth, and 
form lofty trees, considerably valued abroad for their 
timber. The White willow and the Russell willow are 
very rapid in their growth, and have a pleasing light green 
foliage. The Golden willow is remarkable for its bright 
yellow bark, which renders it quite ornamental, even in 
winter. It is a middle sized tree, and is often seen 
growing along the road-sides in the eastern and middle 
states. Salix caprea is deserving a place in collections 
for the beauty of its abundant blossoms at an early and 
cheerless period in the spring. There are a number of 
other species found growing in different parts of the 
Union, which may perhaps possess sufficient interest to 
recommend themselves to the planter. 

* Dr. Barratt of Middletown, Conn., who has paid great attention to the 
willow, enumerates 100 species, as growing in North America, either 
indi'jenous or introduced. 



236 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

The chief, and indeed almost the only value of these 
willows in Landscape Gardening, is to embellish low 
grounds, streams of water, or margins of lakes. When 
mingled with other trees, they often harmonize so badly 
from their extremely different habits, foliage, and color, 
that unless very sparingly introduced, they cannot fail to 
have a bad effect. On the banks of streams, however, 
they are extremely appropriate, hanging their slender 
branches over the liquid element, and drawing genial 
nourishment from the moistened soil. 

" Le aaule incline sur la rive penchante, 
Balan^ant mollement sa tete blanchissante." 

In the middle distance of a scene, also, where a stream 
winds partially hidden, or which might otherwise wholly 
escape the eye, these trees, if planted along its course, 
connected as they are in our minds with watery soils, will 
not fail to direct the attention and convey forcibly the 
impression of a brook or river, winding its way beneath 
their shade. 

The Weeping willow, however, is at once one of the 
most elegant, graceful, and interesting trees ; elegant in its 
light and delicate waving foliage ; graceful in the soft 
flowing lines formed by its drooping branches ; and 
interesting by the melancholy, poetical, and scriptural 
associations connected with it. Every one will call to 
mind the captivity of the children of Israel, as connected 
with this tree : " By the waters of Babylon we sat down 
and wept, O Zion ! As for our harps, we hanged them 
upon the willow trees : " Psalm cxxxvii. And the gentle 
sigh of the faintest breeze through its light foliage, still 
recalls to the mind the plaintive murmur of those 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 237 

abandoned harps, which one may fancy to have be- 
queathed their last tones of music to its pensile branches. 
Since that period, the willow appears to have been, 
more or less, consecrated to a tender sentiment of grief, 

" Trailing low its boughs, to hide 
The gleaming marble." 

To these offices of pensive melancholy, it appears to 
be dedicated in almost all countries. The Chinese and 
other Asiatic nations, and the Turks, as well as the 
enlightened Europeans, universally plant it in their 
cemeteries and last places of repose. A French writer 
thus speaks of it in contrasting its merits for those 
purposes, with the cypress. " The cypress was long 
considered as the appropriate ornament of the cemetery ; 
but its gloomy shade among the tombs, and its thick, 
heavy foliage of the darkest green, inspire only depress- 
ing thoughts, and present the image of death under its 
most appalling form. The Weeping willow, on the 
contrary, rather conveys a picture of grief for the loss 
of the departed, than of the darkness of the gi'ave. Its 
light and elegant foliage flows like the dishevelled hair 
and graceful drapery of a sculptured mourner over a 
sepulchral urn ; and conveys those soothing, though 
softly melancholy reflections which have made one of our 
poets exclaim, ' There is a pleasure even in grief.' " * 
On this passage, Loudon remarks : " Notwithstanding the 
preference thus given the willow, the shape of the cypress 
conveying to a fanciful mind the idea of a flame pointing 
upwards, has been supposed to afford an emblem of the 
hope of immortality ; it is still planted in many church- 

» Poiteaii,"nouveauilu Hamel." 



238 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

yards on the continent, and alluded to in the epitaphs, 
under this light." * 

Abroad, the willow was in ancient days worn by 
young girls, as a symbol of grief for one of their own sex 
who died young : 

" Lay a garland on my hearse, 
Of the dismal yew ; 
Maidens, willow branches wear, 
Say I died true." 

The poets often allude to the willow : 

" A willow garland ihou did'st send 
Perfiimed last day to me ; 
Which did but only this portend, 

I was forsook by thee. 
Since so it is, I'll tell thee what. 

To-morrow thou shalt see 
Me wear the willow, after that 

To die upon the tree." Herrick. 

In landscapes, the Weeping willow is peculiarly express- 
ive of grace and softness. Although a highly beautiful 
tree, great care must be used in its introduction, to 
preserve the harmony and propriety of the whole ; as 
nothing could be more strikingly inappropriate than to 
intermix it frequently with trees expressive of dignity or 
majesty, as the oak, etc. ; where the violent contrast 
exhibited in the near proximity of the two opposite forms, 
could only produce discord. The favorite place, where 
it is most true to nature and itself, is near water, 
where 

" it dips 



Its pendent boughs, stooping as if to drink." Cowper. 

* Arb. Brit. 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TRE;ES. 239 

There, when properly introduced, not in too great abun- 
dance, hanging over some rustic bridge, or cool jutting 
spring, and supported, and brought into harmony with 
surrounding vegetation by such other graceful and Hght- 
sprayed trees as the Birch and Weeping ehn, its effect is 
often Surpassingly beautiful and appropriate. There it is 
one of the first in the vernal season to burst its buds, and 
mirror its soft green foliage in the flood beneath, and one 
of the last in autumn to yield its leafy vesture to the 
chilling frosts, or fitful gusts of approaching winter. 

We consider the Weeping willow ill calculated for a 
place near a mansion which has any claims to size, mag- 
nificence, or architectural beauty ; as it does not in any 
way contribute by its form or outline to add to or 
strengthen such characteristics in a building. The only 
place where it can be happily situated in this way, is in 
the case of very humble or inconspicuous cottages, which 
we have seen much ornamented by being completely 
hidden, as it were, beneath the soft veil of its streaming 
foliage. 

There is a very singular variety of the Weeping willow 
cultivated in our gardens, under the name of the Ringlet 
willow ; which is so remarkable in the form of its foliage, 
and so different from all other trees, that it is well worth a 
place as a curiosity. Each leaf is curled round like a ring 
or hoop, and the appearance of a branch in full foliage is 
not unlike a thinly curled ringlet ; whence its common 
name. It forms a neat, middle-sized tree, with drooping 
branches, though hardly so pendent as the Weeping 
willow. 

The uses of the willow are extremely numerous. Abroad 
it is extensively cultivated in coppices, for timber and fuel, 



240 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

for hoops, ties, etc. ; and we are informed, that in the north- 
ern parts of Europe, and throughout the Russian Empire, 
the twigs are employed in manufacturing domestic uten- 
sils, harness, cables, and even for the houses of the pea- 
santry themselves. From the fibres of the bark, it is said 
that a durable cloth is woven by the Tartars ; and the 
bark is used for tanning in various parts of the eastern 
continent. 

But by far the most extensive use to which this plant is 
applied, is in the manufacture of baskets. From the 
earliest periods it has been devoted to this purpose, and 
large plantations, or osier-fields, as they are called, are 
devoted to the culture of particular kinds for this purpose, 
both in Europe and America. The common Basket willow, 
an European species (S. viminalis), is the sort usually 
grown for this purpose, but several others are also employed. 
For the culture of the basket willows, a deep, moist, though 
not inundated soil is necessary ; such as is generally found 
on the margins of small streams, or low lands. " Ropes 
and baskets made from willow twigs, were probably among 
the very earliest manufactures, in countries where these 
trees abound. The Romans used the twiG;s for binding 
their vines, and tying their reeds in bundles, and made all 
sorts of baskets of them. A crop of willows was consi- 
dered so valuable in the time of Cato, that he ranks the 
Salictum, or willow field, next in value to the vineyard 
and the garden. (Art. Salix. Arh. Brit.) 

Among us, the European Basket willow is extensively 
cultivated, and very large plantations are to be seen in the 
low grounds of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The wood 
of some of the tree willows, and particularly that of the 
Yellow willow, and the Shining willow {S. lucida), is 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREFS. 341 

greatly used in making charcoal for the manufacture of 
gunpowder. 

It is almost unnecessary to say that all the willows grow 
readily from slips or truncheons planted in the ground. So 
tenacious of life are they, that examples are known where 
small trees have been taken up and completely inverted, by 
planting the branches and leaving the roots exposed, which 
have nevertheless thrown out new roots from the former 
tops, and the roots becoming branches, the tree grew again 
with its ordinary vigor. 



The Sassafras Tree. Laurus. 

Nat. Ord. Lauraceae. Lin. Syst. Enneandria, Monogynia. 

The Sassafras is a neat tree of the middle size, belonging 
to the same family as the European laurel or Sweet bay ; 
it is found, more or less plentifully, through the whole 
territory of the United States. In favorable soils, along 
the banks of the Hudson, it often grows to 40 or 50 feet in 
height ; but in the woods it seldom reaches that altitude. 
The flowers are yellow, and appear in small clusters in 
May, and the fruit is a small, deep blue berry, seated on a 
red footstalk or cup. The bark of the wood and roots has 
an agreeable smell and taste, and is a favorite ingredient, 
with the branches of the spruce, in the small beer made by 
the country people. Medicinally, it is considered anti- 
scorbutic and sudorific ; and is thought efficacious in 
purifying the blood. It was formerly in great repute with 
practitioners abroad, and large quantities of the bark of 
the roots were shipped to England ; but the demand has 

of late greatly decreased. 

16 



242 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

The Sassafras is a very agreeable tree to the eye, decked 
as it is with its glossy, deep green, oval, or three-lobed 
leaves. When fully grown, it is also quite picturesque for 
a tree of so moderate a size ; as its branches generally have 
an irregular, somewhat twisted look, and the head is 
partially flattened, and considerably varied in outline. 
After ten years of age, this tree always looks older than it 
really is, from its rough, deeply cracked, grey bark, and 
rather crooked stem. It often appears extremely well on 
the borders of a plantation, and mixes well with almost any 
of the heavier deciduous trees. As it is by no means so 
common a tree as many of those already noticed, it is gene- 
rally the more valued, and may frequently be seen growing 
along the edges of cultivated fields and pastures, appearing 
to thrive well in any good mellow soil. 



The Catalpa Tree. Catalpa. 

Nat. Ord. Bignoniaceae. Lin. Syst. Diandria, Monogynia, 

A native of nearly all the states south and west of Vir- 
ginia, this tree has become naturalized also throughout the 
middle and eastern sections of the Union, where it is 
generally planted for ornament. 

In Carolina it is called the Catawba tree, after the 
Catawba Indians, a tribe that formerly inhabited that 
country ; and it is probable that the softer epithet now 
generally bestowed upon it in the north, is only a corrup- 
tion of that original name. 

The leaves of this tree are very large, often measuring 
six or seven inches broad ; they are heart-shaped in form, 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 243 

smooth, and pale green on the upper side, slightly downy 
beneath. The blossoms are extremely beautiful, hanging, 
like those of the Horse-chestnut, in massy clusters beyond 
the outer surface of the foliage. The color is a pure and 
delicate white, and the inner part of the corolla is 
delicately sprinkled over with violet, or reddish and yellow- 
spots ; indeed, the individual beauty of the flowers is so 
great when viewed closelv, that one almost regrets that 
they should be elevated on the branches of a large forest 
tree. When these fall, they are succeeded by bean-like 
capsules or seed-vessels, which grow ten or twelve inches 
long, become brown, and hang pendent upon the branches 
during the greater part of the winter. 

The Catalpa never, or rarely, takes a symmetrical form 
when growing up ; but generally forms a wide-spreading 
head, forty or fifty feet in diameter. Its large and abundant 
foliage affords a copious shade, and its growth is quite 
rapid, soon forming a large and bulky tree. In ornamental 
plantations it is much valued on account of its superb and 
showy flowers, and is therefore deserving a place in every 
lawn. It is generally seen to best advantage when 
standing alone, but it may also be mingled with other large 
round-leaved trees, as the basswood, etc., when it produces 
a very pleasing effect. The branches are rather brittle, 
like those of the locust, and are therefore somewhat liable 
to be broken by the wind. Accustomed to a warmer 
climate, the leaves expand late in the spring, and wither 
hastily when frost approaches ; but the soft tint of their 
luxuriant vegetation is very grateful to the eye, and it 
appears to be uninjured by the hottest rays of summer. 
North of this place the Catalpa is rather too tender for 
exposed situations. 



244 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

We have seen the Catalpa employed to great advantage 
in fixing and holding up the loose soil of river banks, 
where, if planted, it will soon insinuate its strong roots, 
and retain the soil firmly. In Ohio, experiments have 
been made with the timber for the posts used in fencing ; 
and it is stated on good authority that it is but little 
inferior, when well seasoned, to that of the locust in 
durability. 

Michaux mentions that he has been assured that the 
honey collected from the flowers is poisonous ; but this we 
are inclined to doubt ; or at least we have witnessed no ill 
effects from planting it in abundance in the middle States, 
in those neighborhoods where bees are kept in considerable 
numbers. 

The Catalpa is very easily propagated from seeds sown 
in any light soil ; and the growth of the young plants is 
extremely rapid. C. syringafolia is the only species. 



The Persimon Tree. Diospyros. 

Nat. Ord. Ebenaceae. Lin. Syst. Polygamia, Dioecia. 

The Highlands of the Hudson, and about the same 
latitude on the Connecticut, may be considered the 
northern limits of this small tree. It generally forms a 
spreading loose head, of some twenty or thirty feet high, 
in good soils in the middle states ; but we have seen a 
specimen of nearly eighty feet, in the old Bartram Garden 
at Philadelphia ; and fifty feet is probably the average 
growth on deep fertile lands in the southern states. 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 246 

The Persimon bears a small, round, dull red fruit, about 
an inch in diameter, containing six or seven stones ; it is 
insufferably austere and bitter, until the autumnal frosts have 
mellowed it and lessened its harshness, when it becomes 
quite palatable. Considerable quantities of the fruit are 
annually brought into New York market and its vicinity, 
from New Jersey, and sold : the produce is very abundant, 
a single tree often yielding several bushels. A strong 
brandy has been distilled from them ; and in the south they 
are said to enter into the composition of the country beer. 
For the latter purpose they are pounded up with bran, dried, 
and kept for use till wanted. 

The foliage of the Persimon is handsome ; the leaves 
being four or five inches long, simple, oblong, dark green, 
and glossy, like those of the orange. The blossoms are 
green and inconspicuous. 

The Persimon has no importance as a tree to recommend 
it ; but it may be admitted in all good collections for its 
pleasing shining foliage, and the variety which its singular 
fruit adds to the productions of a complete country resi- 
dence. The common sort {D. Virginiana) grows readily 
from the seed. 

There is an European Species {Dyosporus Lotus), with 
yellow fruit about the size of a cherry, rather less palatable 
than our native kind. The specimens of this tree, which 
we have imported, appear too tender to bear our winters 
unprotected, so that it will probably not prove hardy in the 
northern states. 



246 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

The Peperidge Tree. Nyssa. 
Nat. Ord. Santalaceae. Lin. Syst. Polygamia, Dioecia. 

The Peperidge, Tupelo, or sour gum tree, as it is called 
in various parts of the Union, grows to a moderate size, 
and is generally found in moist situations, though we have 
seen it in New York State, thriving very well in dry upland 
soils. The diameter of the trunk is seldom more than 
eighteen inches, and the general height is about forty or 
fifty feet. The flowers are scarcely perceptible, but the 
fruit borne in pairs, is about the size of a pea, deep blue, 
and ripens in October. 

The leaves are oval, smooth, and have a beautiful gloss 
on their upper surface. The branches diverge from the 
main trunk almost horizontally, and sometimes even bend 
downwards like those of some of the Pine family, which 
gives the tree a very marked and picturesque character. 

The Peperidge when of moderate size is not difficult to 
transplant, and we consider it a very fine tree, both on 
account of its beautiful, dark green, and lustrous foliage in 
summer, and the brilliant fiery color which it takes when 
the frost touches it in autumn. In this respect it is fully 
equal in point of beauty to that of the Liquidambar or Sweet 
gum, and the maples which we have already described ; 
and so fine a feature do we consider this autumnal beauty 
of foliage that we would by all means advise the introduc- 
tion of such trees as the Peperidge into the landscape for 
that reason alone, were it not also valuable for its peculiar 
form and polished leaves in summer. 

Besides the Peperidge there are three other Nyssas, 
natives of this continent, viz. the Black gum {N, Sylvatica), 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES, 247 

a tree of greater dimensions, and larger, more elongated 
leaves, whose northern boundary is the neighborhood of 
Philadelphia ; the Large Tupelo (iV. gi-andidentata), a 
tree of the largest size, with large, coarsely toothed 
foliage, and a large blue fruit, three-fourths of an inch 
long, which is sometimes called the wild olive ; and the 
sour Tupelo {N. capitata), with long, smooth, laurel-like 
leaves, and light red, oval fruit, called the Wild Lime, 
from its abounding in a strong acid, resembling that of 
the latter fruit. Both the latter trees are natives of the 
southern states, and are little known north of Philadelphia. 

The wood of all the foregoing trees is remarkable for 
the peculiar arrangement of its fibres ; which, instead of 
running directly through the stem in parallel lines, are 
curiously twisted and interwoven together. Owing to 
this circumstance it is extremely difficult to split, and is 
therefore often used in the manufacture of wooden bowls, 
trays, etc. That of the Peperidge is also preferred for 
the same reason, and for its toughness, by the wheel- 
wrights, in the construction of the naves of wheels, and 
for other similar purposes. 

Michaux remarks that he is unable to give any reason 
why the names of Sour gum, Black gum, etc., have been 
bestowed upon these trees, as they spontaneously exude no 
sap or fluid which could give rise to such an appellation. 
We suspect that the term has arisen from a comparison 
of the autumnal tints of these trees belonging to the genus 
Nyssa, with those of the Sweet gum or Liquidambar, 
which, at a short distance, they so much resemble in the 
early autumn. 



248 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

The Thorn Tree. Crategus. 
Nat. Ord. Rosaceae. Lin. ^st. Icosandria, Di-pentagynia. 

A tree of the smallest size ; but though many of the 
sorts attain only the stature of ordinary shrubs, yet some 
of our native species, as well as the English Hawthorn 
(C oxycantha), when standing alone, will form neat, 
spreading-topped trees, of twenty or thirty feet in height. 

Although the thorn is not generally viewed among us 
as a plant at all conducive to the beauty of scenery, yet 
we are induced to mention it here, and to enforce its 
claims in that point of view, as they appear to us highly 
entitled to consideration. First, the foliage — deep green, 
shining, and often beautifully cut and diversified in form 
— is prettily tufted and arranged upon the branches ; 
secondly, the snowy blossoms — often produced in such 
quantities as to completely whiten the whole head of the 
tree, and which in many sorts have a delightful perfume 
— present a charming appearance in the early part of the 
season ; and thirdly, the ruddy crimson or purple haws or 
fruit, which give the whole plant a rich and glowing 
appearance in and among our fine forests, open glades, or 
wild thickets, in autumn. 

The most ornamental and the strongest growing 
indigenous kinds are the Scarlet Thorn tree (C coccinea), 
and its varieties, the Washington Thorn (C. populifolia), 
and the Cockspur Thorn (C crus-galli) ; all of which, in 
good soil, will grow to the height of twenty or thirty feet, 
and can readily be transplanted from their native sites. 

The English Hawthorn is not only a beautiful small 
tree, but it is connected in our minds with all the elegant, 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 249 

poetic, and legendary associations which belong to it in 
England ; for scarcely any tree is richer in such than 
this. With the floral games of May, this plant, from its 
blooming at that period, and being the favorite of the 
season, has become so identified, that the blossoms are 
known in many parts of Britain chiefly by that name. 
Among the ancient Greeks and Romans, they were dedi- 
cated to Flora, whose festival began on the first of that 
month ; and in the olden times of merry England, the 
May-pole, its top decked with the gayest garlands of these 
blossoms, was raised amid the shouts of the young and 
old assembled to celebrate this happy rustic festival. 
Chaucer alludes to the custom, and describes the hawthorn 
thus : 

Marke the fairc blooming of the Hawthorne tree. 
Which finely cloathed in a robe of white, 
Fills lull the wanton eye with May's delight. 

Court of Love. 

And Herrick has left us the following lines to " Corrina 
going a Maying ;" 

" Come, my Corrina, come ; and coming marke 
How eche field turns a street, eche street a park 
Made green, and trimmed with trees ; see how 
Devotion gives eche house a bough 
Or branch ; eche porch, eche doore ere this. 
An arke, a tabernacle is. 
Made up of Hawthorne, neatly interwove. 
As if here were those cooler shades of love." 

The following lines descriptive of the English species, 
we extract from the " Romance of Nature." 

" Come let us rest this hawthorn tree beneath. 
And breathe its luscious fragrance as it flies, 



250 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

And watch the tiny petals as they fall. 
Circling and winnowing down our sylvan hall." 

The berries, or haws, as they are called, have a very rich 
and coral-like look when the tree, standing alone, is com- 
pletely covered with them in October. There are some 
elegant varieties of this species, which highly deserve cul- 
tivation for the beauty of their flowers and foliage. Among 
them we may particularly notice the Double White, with 
beautiful blossoms like small white roses ; the Pink and the 
Scarlet flowering, both single and double, and the Varie- 
gated-leaved hawthorn, all elegant trees ; as well as the 
Weeping hawthorn, a rarer variety, with pendulous 
branches. 

The Hawthorn is most agreeable to the eye in compo- 
sition when it forms the undergrowth or thicket, peeping 
out in all its green freshness, gay blossoms, or bright fruit, 
from beneath and between the groups and masses of trees ; 
where, mingled with the hazel, etc., it gives a pleasing 
intricacy to the whole mass of foliage. But the different 
species display themselves to most advantage, and grow 
also to a finer size, when planted singly, or two or three 
together, along the walks leading through the diflferent parts 
of the pleasure-ground or shrubbery. 



The Magnolia Tree. Magnolia. 

Nat. Ord. Magnoliaceae. Lin. Syst. Polyandria, Polygynia. 

The North American trees composing the genus Magnolia 
are certainly among the most splendid productions of the 
forests in any temperate climate ; and when we consider 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 251 

the size and fragrance of their blossonris, or the beauty of 
their large and noble foliage, we may be allowed to doubt 
whether there is a more magnificent and showy genus of 
deciduous trees in the world. With the exception of a few- 
shrubs or smaller trees, natives of China and the mountains 
of Central Asia, it belongs exclusively to this continent, as 
no individuals of this order are indigenous to Europe or 
Africa. The American species attracted the attention of 
the first botanists who came over to examine the riches of 
our native flora, and were transplanted to the gardens 
of England and France more than a hundred years ago, 
where they are still valued as the finest hardy trees of that 
hemisphere. 

The Large Evergreen Magnolia (M. grandifora), or 
Big Laurel, as it is sometimes called, is peculiarly indige- 
nous to that portion of our country south of North Carolina, 
where its stately trunk, often seventy feet in height, and 
superb pyramid of deep green foliage, render it one of the 
loveliest and most majestic of trees. The leaves, which 
are evergreen, and somewhat resemble those of the laurel 
in form, are generally six or eight inches in length, thick in 
texture and brilliantly polished on the upper surface. The 
highly fragrant flowers are composed of about six petals, 
opening in a wide cup-like form, of the most snowy white- 
ness of color. Scattered among the rich foliage, their 
effect is exquisitely beautiful. The seeds are borne in an 
oval, cone-like carpel or seed-vessel, composed of a number 
of cells which split longitudinally, when the stony seed, 
covered with a bright red pulp, drops out. There are 
several varieties, which have been raised from the seed of 
this species abroad ; the most beautiful is the Exmouth 
Magnolia, with fine foliage, rusty beneath ; it produces its 



2S2 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

flowers much earlier and more abundantly than the original 
sort. 

We regret that this tree is too tender to bear the open 
air north of Philadelphia, as it is one of the choicest 
evergreens. At the nurseries of the Messrs. Landreth, 
and at the Bartram Botanic Garden of Col. Carr, near that 
city, some good specimens of this Magnolia and its 
varieties are growing thriftily ; but in the State of New 
York, and at the east, it can only be considered a green- 
house plant. 

The Cucumber Magnolia (C acuminata), (so called 
from the appearance of the young fruit, which is not unlike 
a green cucumber) takes the same place in the north, in 
point of majesty and elevation, that the Big Laurel 
occupies in the south. Its northern limit is Lake Erie ; 
and it abounds along the whole range of the AUeghanies to 
the southward, in rich mountain acclivities, and moist 
sheltered valleys. There it often measures three or four 
feet in diameter, and eighty in height. The leaves, which 
are deciduous, like those of all the Magnolias except the M. 
grandiflora, are also about six inches long and four broad, 
acuminate at the point, of a bluish green on the upper 
surface. The flowers are six inches in diameter, of a pale 
yellow, much like those of the Tulip tree, and slightly 
fragrant. The fruit is about three inches long, and 
cylindrical in shape. Most of the inhabitants of the 
country bordering on the AUeghanies, says Michaux, 
gather these cones about midsummer, when they are half 
ripe, and steep them in whiskey ; the liquor produced, they 
take as an antidote against the fevers prevalent in those 
districts. 

The Umbrella Magnolia {M. tripetala), though found 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 253 

sometimes in the northwest of New York, is rare there, 
and abounds most in the south and west. It is a smaller 
tree than the preceding kinds, rarely growing more than 
thirty feet high. The leaves on the terminal shoots are 
disposed three or four in a tuft, which has given rise to the 
name of Umbrella tree. They arc of fine size, eighteen 
inches or two feet long, and seven or eight broad, oval, 
pointed at both ends ; the flowers are also large, white, and 
numerous ; and the conical fruit-vessel containing the 
seeds, assumes a beautiful rose-color in autumn. From its 
fine tufted foliage, and rapid growth, this is one of the most 
desirable species for our pleasure-grounds. 

The Large-leaved Magnolia (M. macropJujlla) is the 
rarest of the genus in our forests, being only found as yet 
in North Carolina. The leaves grow to an enormous size 
when the tree is young, often measuring three feet long, 
and nine or ten inches bi'oad. They are oblong, oval, and 
heart-shaped at the base. The flowers are also immense, 
opening of the size of a hat-crown, and diffusing a most 
agreeable odor. The tree attains only a secondary size, 
and is distinguished in winter by the whiteness of its bark, 
compared with the others. It is rather tender north of 
New York. 

The Heart-leaved Magnolia {M. cordata) is a beautiful 
southern species, distinguished by its nearly round, heart- 
shaped foliage, and its yellow flowers about four inches in 
diameter. It blooms in the gardens very young, and very 
abundantly, often producing two crops in a season. 

Magnolia auriculata grows about forty feet high, and 
is also found near the southern Alleghany range of 
mountains. The leaves are light green, eight or nine 
inches long, widest at the top, and narrower towards the 



254 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

base, where they are rounded into lobes. The flowers are 
not so fine as those of the preceding kinds, but still are 
handsome, pale greenish white, and about four inches in 
diameter. 

Besides these, there is a smaller American Magnolia, 
which is the only sort that in the middle or eastern 
sections of the Union grows within 150 miles of the sea- 
shore. This is the Magnolia of the swamps of New 
Jersey and the South (M. glaucd), of which so many 
fragrant and beautiful bouquets are gathered in the season 
of its inflorescence, brought to New York and Philadel- 
phia, and exposed for sale in the markets. It is rather a 
large bush, than a tree ; with shining, green, laurel-like 
leaves, four or five inches long, somewhat mealy or 
glaucous beneath. The blossoms, about three inches 
broad, are snowy white, and so fragrant that where they 
abound in the swamps, their perfume is often perceptible 
for the distance of a quarter of a mile. 

The foreign sorts introduced into our gardens from 
China, are the Chinese purple {M. purpurea), which 
produces an abundance of large delicate purple blossoms 
early in the season ; the Yulan or Chinese White Magno- 
lia {M. conspicua), a most abundant bloomer, bearing 
beautiful white, fragrant flowers in April, before the leaves 
appear ; and Soulange's Magnolia {M. Soulangiana), a 
hybrid between the two foregoing, with large flowers 
delicately tinted with white and purple. These succeed 
well in sheltered situations, in our pleasure-grounds, and 
add greatly to their beauty early in the season. Grafted 
on the cucumber tree, they form large and vigorous trees 
of great beauty. 

The Magnolia, in order to thrive well, requires a deep, 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 355 

rich soil ; which in nearly all cases, to secure their 
luxuriance, should be improved by adding thereto some 
leaf mould or decayed vegetable matter from the woods. 
When transplanted from the nursery, they should be 
preferred of small or only moderate size, as their succulent 
roots are easily injured, and they recover slowly when 
large. Most of them may be propagated from seed ; but 
they flower sooner, grow more vigorously, and are much 
hardier when grafted upon young stocks of the Cucumber 
Magnolia. This we have found to be particularly the 
case with the Chinese species and varieties. 

All these trees are such superbly beautiful objects upon 
a lawn in their rich summer garniture of luxuriant foliage, 
and large odoriferous flowers, that they need no further 
recommendation from us to insure their regard and 
admiration from all persons who have room for their 
culture. If possible, situations somewhat sheltered either 
by buildings or other trees, should be chosen for all the 
species, except the Cucumber Magnolia, which thrives 
well in almost any aspect not directly open to violent 
gales of wind. 



The White-wood, or Tulip Tree. Liriodendron. 
Nat. Ord. Magnoliaceae. Lin. Syst. Polyandria, Polygynia. 

The Tulip tree belongs to the same natural order as the 
Magnolias, and is not inferior to most of the latter in all 
that entitles them to rank among our very finest forest 
trees. 

The taller Magnolias, as we have already remarked, do 



256 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

not grow naturally within 100 or 150 miles of the sea- 
coast ; and the Tulip tree may be considered as in some 
measure supplying their place in the middle Atlantic 
states. West of the Connecticut river, and south of the 
sources of the Hudson, this fine tree may be often seen 
reaching in warm and deep alluvial soils 80 or 90 feet in 
height. But in the v/estcrn states, where indeed the 
growth of forest trees is astonishingly vigorous, this tree 
far exceeds that altitude. The elder Michaux mentions 
several which he saw in Kentucky, that were fifteen and 
sixteen feet in girth ; and his son confirms the measure- 
ment of one, three miles and a half from Louisville, which, 
at five feet from the ground, was found to be twenty-two 
feet and six inches in circumference, with a corresponding 
elevation of 130 feet. 

The foliage is rich and glossy, and has a very peculiar 
form ; being cut off, as it were, at the extremity, and 
slightly notched and divided into two-sided lobes. The 
breadth of the leaves is six or eight inches. The flowers, 
which are shaped like a large tulip, are composed of six 
thick yellow petals, mottled on the inner surface with red 
and green. They are borne singly on the terminal shoots, 
have a pleasant, slight perfume, and are very showy. 
The seed-vessel, which ripens in October, is formed of a 
number of scales surrounding the central axis in the form 
of a cone. It is remarkable that young trees under 30 or 
35 feet high, seldom or never perfect their seeds. 

Whoever has once seen the Tulip tree in a situation 
where the soil was favorable to its free growth, can 
never forget it. With a clean trunk, straight as a 
column, for 40 or 50 feet, surmounted by a fine, ample 
summit of rich a;reen foliage, it is, in our estimation, 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 257 

decidedly the most stately tree in North America. 
When standing alone, and encouraged in its lateral 
growth, it will indeed often produce a lower head, but 
its tendency is to rise, and it only exhibits itself in all 
its stateliness and majesty when, supported on such a 
noble columnar trunk, it towers far above the heads of 
its neighbors of the park or forest. Even when at its 
loftiest elevation, its large specious blossoms, which, 
from their form, one of our poets has likened to the 
chalice ; 

Through the verdant maze 

Tlie Tulip tree 
Its golden chalice oft triumphantly displays;. 

Pickering. 

jut out from amid the tufted canopy in the month of June, 
and glow in richness and beauty. While the tree is less 
than a foot in diameter, the stem is extremely smooth, and 
it has almost always a refined and finished appearance. 
For the lawn or park, we conceive the Tulip tree 
eminently adapted : its tall upright stem, and handsome 
summit, contrasting nobly with the spreading forms of most 
deciduous trees. It should generally stand alone, or near 
the border of a mass of trees, where it may fully display 
itself to the eye, and exhibit all its charms from the root 
to the very summit ; for no tree of the same grandeur and 
magnitude is so truly beautiful and graceful in every 
portion of its trunk and branches. Where there is a taste 
for avenues, the Tulip tree ought by all means to be 
employed, as it makes a most magnificent overarching 
canopy of verdure, supported on trunks almost archi- 
tectural in their symmetry. The leaves also, from their 

bitterness, arc but little liable to the attacks of any insect. 

17 



258 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

This tree was introduced into England about 1668 ; and 
IS now to be found in almost every gentleman's park on the 
Continent of Europe, so highly is it esteemed as an 
ornamental tree of the first class. We hope that the fine 
native specimens yet standing, here and there, in farm lands 
along our river banks, may be sacredly preserved from 
the barbarous infliction of the axe, which formerly 
despoiled without mercy so many of the majestic denizens 
of our native forests. 

In the western states, where this tree abounds, it is much 
used in building and carpentry. The timber is light and 
yellow, and the tree is commonly called the Yellow Poplar 
in those districts, from some fancied resemblance in the 
wood, though it is much heavier and more durable than 
that of the poplar. 

When exposed to the weather, the wood is liable to 
warp, but as it is fine grained, light, and easily worked, it is 
extensively employed for the panels of coaches, doors, 
cabinet-work, iind wainscots. The Indians who once 
inhabited these regions, hollowed out the trunks, and made 
their canoes of them. There are two sorts of timber 
known ; viz. the Yellow and the White Poplar, or Tulip 
tree. These, however, it is well known are the same 
species (L. tulijnfera) ; but ihe variation is-brought about 
by the soil, which if dry, gravelly, and elevated, produces 
the white, and if rich, deep, and rather moist, the yellow 
timber. 

It is rather difficult to transplant the Tulip tree when it 
has attained much size, unless the roots have undergone 
preparation, as will hereafter be mentioned ; but it is easily 
propagated from seed, or obtained from the nurseries, and 
the growth is then strong and rapid. 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 259 

The Dogwood Tree. Cornus. 
Nat. Ord. Cornaceae. Lin. Syst. Tetrandria, Monogynia. 

There are a number of small shrubs that belong to this 
genus, but the common Dogwood (Cornus jiorida) is the 
only species which has any claims to rank as a tree. In 
the middle states, where it abounds, as well as in most 
other parts of the Union, the maximum height is thirty- 
five feet, while its ordinary elevation is about twenty feet. 

The Dogwood is quite a picturesque small tree, and owes 
its interest chiefly to the beauty of its numerous blossoms 
and fruit. The leaves are oval, about three inches long, 
dark green above, and paler below. In the beginning of 
May, while the foliage is beginning to expand rapidly, and 
before the tree is in full leaf, the flowers unfold, and 
present a beautiful spectacle, olten covering the whole tree 
with their snowy garniture. The principal beauty of 
these consists in the involucrum or calyx, which, instead 
of being green, as is commonly the case, in the Dogwood 
takes a white or pale blue tint. The true flowers may be 
seen collected in little clusters, and are, individually, quite 
small, though surrounded by the involucrum, which 
produces all the effect of a fine white blossom. 

In the early part of the season, the Dogwood is one of 
the gayest ornaments of our native woods. It is seen at 
that time to great advantage in sailing up the Hudson 
river. There, in the abrupt Highlands, which rise boldly 
many hundred feet above the level of the river, patches of 
the Dogwood in full bloom gleam forth in snowy whiteness 
from among the tender green of the surrounding young 
foliage, and the gloomier shades of the dark evergreens. 



260 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

which clothe with a rich verdure the rocks and precipices 
that overhang the moving flood below. 

The berries which succeed these blossoms become quite 
red and brilliant in autumn ; and, as they are plentifully- 
borne in little clusters, they make quite a display. When 
the sharp frosts have lessened their bitterness, they are the 
food of the robin, which, at that late season, eats them 
greedily. 

The foliage in autumn is also highly beautiful, and must 
be considered as contributing to the charms of this tree. 
The color it assumes is a deep lake-red ; and it is at that 
season as easily known at a distance by its fine coloring, 
as the Maple, the Liquidambar, and the Nyssa, of which 
we have already spoken. Taking into consideration all 
these ornamental qualities, and also the fact that it is every 
day becoming scarcer in our native wilds, we think the 
Dogwood tree should fairly come under the protection of 
the picturesque planter, and well deserves a place in the 
pleasure-ground and shrubbery. 

The wood is close-grained, hard, and heavy, and takes 
a good polish. It is too small to enter into general use, but 
is often employed for the lesser utensils of the farm. The 
bark has been very successfully employed by physicians in 
Philadelphia, and elsewhere, and is found to possess nearly 
the same properties as the Peruvian bark. Bigelow states 
in his American Botany, that its use in fevers has been 
known and practised in many sections of the Union by the 
country people, for more than fifty years. 

Besides this native species there is an European 
dogwood {Cornus mascula), commonly called the Cornelian 
cherry, which is now planted in many of our gardens, and 
grows to the height of twenty or thirty feet. The small 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 261 

yellow flowers come out close to the branches in March or 
April, and the whole tree is quite handsome in autumn, 
from the size and color of its fine oval scarlet berries. 
These are as large as a small cherry, transparent, and hang 
for a long time upon the tree. The leaves are much like 
those of the common Dogwood. Although the blossoms 
are produced when the plant is quite a bush, yet it must 
attain some age before the fruit sets. Altogether, the 
Cornelian cherry is one of the most desirable of small 
trees. 



The Salisburia, or Ginko Tree. 
Nat. Ord. Taxaceas. Lin. Syst. Moncecia, Polyandria. 

This fine exotic tree, which appears to be perfectly hardy 
in this climate, is one of the most singular in its foliage that 
has ever come under our observation. The leaves are 
wedge-shaped, or somewhat triangular, attached to the 
petioles at one of ihe angles, and pale yellowish green in 
color ; the ribs or veins, instead of diverging from the 
central mid-rib of the leaf, as is commonly the case in 
dicotyledonous plants, are all parallel ; in short, they almost 
exactly resemble (except in being three or four times as 
large) those of the beautiful Maiden hair fern (Adiantum) 
common in our woods : being thickened at the edges and 
notched on the margin in a similar manner. The male 
flowers are yellow, sessile catkins ; the female is seated in a 
curious kind of cup, formed by the enlargement of the sum- 
mit of the peduncle. The fruit is a drupe, about an inch 
in length, containing a nut, which, according to Dr. Abel, 
is almost always to be seen for sale in the markets of China 



262 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

and Japan, the native country of this tree. They are eaten 
after having been roasted or boiled, and are considered 
excellent. 

The Salisburia was introduced into this country by that 
zealous amateur of horticulture and botany, the late Mr. 
Hamilton, of Woodlands, near Philadelphia, who brought 
it from England in 1784, where it had been received from 
Japan about thirty years previous. There are several of 
these now growing at Woodlands ; and the largest measures 
sixty feet in height, and three feet four inches in circum- 
ference. The next largest specimen which we have seen 
is now standing on the north side of that fine public square, 
the Boston Common. It originally grew in the grounds 
of Gardiner Green, Esq., of Boston ; but though of fine size, 
it was, about three years since, carefully removed to its 
present site, which proves its capability for bearing trans- 
planting. Its measurement is forty feet in elevation, and 
three in circumference. There is also a very handsome 
tree in the grounds of Messrs. Landreth, Philadelphia, about 
thirty-five feet high and very thrifty. 

We have not learned that any of these trees have yet 
borne their blossoms ; at any rate none but male blossoms 
have yet been produced. Abroad, the Salisburia has fruited 
in the South of France, and young trees have been reared 
from the nuts. 

The bark is somewhat soft and leathery, and on the 
trunk and branches assumes a singular tawny yellow or 
greyish color. The tree grows pretty rapidly, and forms 
an exceedingly neat, loose, conical, or tapering head. The 
timber is very solid and heavy ; and the tree is said to grow 
to enormous size in its native country. Bunge, who accom- 
panied the mission from Russia to Pekin, states that he saw 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TRRE3. 263 

near a Pagoda, an immense Ginko tree, with a trunk 
nearly forty feet in circumference, and still in full vigor of 
vegetation.* 

Although nearly related to the Pine tribe, and forming, 
apparently, the connecting link between the coniferce and 
exogenous trees, yet, unlike the former tribe, the wood of 
the tree is perfectly free from resin. 

The Ginko tree is so great a botanical curiosity, and is 
so singularly beautiful when clad with its fern-like foliage, 
that it is strikingly adapted to add ornament and interest 
to the pleasure ground. As the foliage is of that kind which 
must be viewed near by to understand its peculiarity, and 
as the form and outline of the tree are pleasing, and har- 
monize well with buildings, we would recommend that it 
be planted near the house, where its unique character can 
be readily seen and appreciated. 

Salishuria adiantifolia is the only species. In the 
United States it appears to flourish best in a rich fertile soil, 
rather dry than otherwise. South of Albany it is perfectly 
hardy, and may therefore be considered a most valuable 
acquisition to our catalogue of trees of the first class. It 
has hitherto been propagated chiefly from layers ; but cut- 
tings of the preceding year's growth, planted early in the 
spring, in a fine sandy loam, and kept shaded and watered, 
will also root without much difficulty. When the old trees 
already mentioned (which have doubtless been raised from 
seed) begin to blossom, plants reared from them by cuttings 
or grafts, will, of course, produce blossoms and fruit much 
more speedily than when reared from the nut. 

* Bull, dc la S9C. (i'Agr. du depart, de I'llerault. Arb. Brit. 



264 LAND3CAPE GARDENING. 

The American Cypress Tree. Taxodium. 
Nat. Ord. Coniferae. Lin. Syst. Monoecia, Monadelphia. 

The Southern or Deciduous cypress (Taxodium disti- 
chum)* is one of the most majestic, useful, and beautiful 
trees of the southern part of North America. Naturally, it 
is not found growing north of Maryland, or the south part 
of Delaware, but below that boundary it becomes extremely 
multiplied. The low grounds and alluvial soils subject to 
inundations, are constantly covered with this tree ; and on 
the banks of the Mississippi and other great western rivers, 
for more than 600 miles from its mouth, those vast marshes, 
caused by the periodical bursting and overflowing of their 
banks, are filled with huge and almost endless growths of 
this tree, called Cypress swamps. Beyond the boundaries 
of the United States its geographical range extends to 
Mexico ; and Michaux estimates that it is found more or 
less abundantly, over a range of country more than 3000 
miles in extent. 

" In the swamps of the southern states and the Floridas, 
on whose deep, miry soil a new layer of vegetable mould 
is deposited every year by the floods, the Cypress attains 
its utmost development. The largest stocks are 120 feet 
in height, and from 25 to 40 feet in circumference above 
the conical base, which at the surface of the earth is always 
three or four times as large as the continued diameter of 
the trunk ; in felling them, the negroes are obliged to raise 
themselves upon scaffolds five or six feet from the ground. 
The roots of the largest stocks, particularly of such as are 

* Cupressus distieha. 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 265 

most exposed to inundation, are charged with conical pro- 
tuberances, commonly from eighteen to twenty-four inches, 
and sometimes four or five feet in thickness ; these are 
always hollow, smooth on the surface, and covered with a 
reddish bark, like the roots, which they resemble also in the 
softness of their wood ; they exhibit no sign of vegetation, 
and I have never succeeded in obtaining shoots by wound- 
ing their surface and covering them with the earth. No 
cause can be assigned for their existence : they are peculiar 
to the Cypress, and begin to appear when it is twenty or 
twenty-five feet in height ; they are not made use of except 
by the negroes for bee-hives." 

" The foliage is open, light, and of a fresh, agreeable 
tint ; each leaf is four or five inches long, and consists of 
two parallel rows of leaflets, upon a common stem. The 
leaflets are small, fine, and somewhat arching, with the 
convex side outwards. In the autumn, they change from 
a light green to a dull red, and are shed soon after." 

" The Cypress blooms in Carolina about the first of 
February. The male and female flowers are borne 
separately, by the same tree ; the first in flexible pendulous 
aments, and the second in bunches, scarcely apparent. 
The cones are about as large as the thumb, hard, round, 
of an uneven surface, and stored with small, irregular, 
ligneous seeds, containing a cylindrical kernel ; they are 
ripe in October, and retain their productive virtue for two 
years."* 

Such is the account given of the Cypress in its native 
soils. In the middle states it is planted only as an orna- 
mental tree ; and while, in the South, its great abundance 

• N. A. Sylva. ii. 332. 



266 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

causes it to be neglected or disregarded as such, its rarity 
here allows us fully to appreciate its beauty. North of the 
43° of latitude it will not probably stand the winter without 
protection ; but south of that, it will attain a good size. 
The finest planted specimen which we have seen, and one 
which is probably equal in grandeur to almost any in their 
native swamps, is growing in the Bartram Botanic Garden, 
near Philadelphia. That garden was founded by the father 
of American botanists, John Bartram, who explored the 
southern and western territories, then vast wilds, at the 
peril of his life, to furnish the savans and gardens of 
Europe, with the productions of the new world, and who 
commenced the living collection, now unequalled, of 
American trees, in his own garden. In the lower part of 
it stands the great Cypress, a tree of noble dimensions, 
measuring at this time 130 feet in height and 25 in circum- 
ference. The tree was held by Bartram's son, William, 
while his father assisted in planting it, ninety -7iine years 
ago. The elder Bartram at the time expressed to his son, 
the hope that the latter might live to see it a large tree. 
Long before he died (not many years since), it had become 
the prodigy of the garden, and great numbers from the 
neighboring city annually visit it, to admire its vast size, 
and recline beneath its ample shade. 

The foliage of the Cypress is peculiar ; for while it has 
a resemblance to the Hemlock, Yew, and other evergreen 
trees, its cheerful, bright green tint, and loose airy tufts of 
foliage, give it a character of great lightness and elegance. 
In young trees, the form of the head is pyramidal or 
pointed ; but when they become old, Michaux remarks, the 
head becomes widely spread, and even depressed, thus 
assuming a remarkably picturesque aspect. This is also 



DECIDUOUS OENAMENTAL TREES. 267 

heightened by the deep furrows or channels in the trunk, 
and the singular excrescences or knobs already described, 
which, jutting above the surlace of the ground, give a 
strange ruggedness to the surface beneath the shadow of 
its branches. A single Cypress standing alone, like that in 
the Bartram Garden, is a grand object, uniting with the 
expression of great elegance and lightness in its foliage? 
that of magnificence, when we perceive its extraordinary 
height, and huge stem and branches. 

In composition, the Cypress produces the happiest effect, 
when it is planted with the hemlock and firs, with which 
it harmonizes well in the form of its foliage, while it.s 
soft light green hue is beautifully opposed to the richer and 
darker tints of those thickly-clad evergreens. Wherever 
there is a moist and rather rich soil, the Cypress may be 
advantageously planted : for although we have seen it 
thrive well on a fertile dry loam, yet to attain all its lofty 
proportions, it requires a soil where its thirsty roots can 
drink in a sufficient supply of moisture. There its growth 
is quite rapid ; and although it may, at first, suffer a little 
from the cold at the north, in severe winters, yet it 
continues its progress, and ultimately becomes a stately 
tree. 

In many parts of the southern states, the timber of this 
tree, which is of excellent quality, is extensively used in 
the construction of the framework and outer covering of 
houses. It is also esteemed for shingles ; and a large trade 
has long been carried on from the south in Cypress 
shingles. Posts made of this tree are found to be very 
lasting ; and it is al§o employed for water-pipes, masts of 
vessels, etc. In the north, its place is supplied by the Pine 



268 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

timber, but in many southern cities, particularly New- 
Orleans, it will be found to enter into the composition of 
almost every building. 

In the nurseries, the Cypress is usually propagated from 
the seed ; and as it sends down strong roots, it should be 
transplanted where it is finally to grow before it attains too 
great a development. . 

The European Cypress {Cupressus sempervirens), a 
beautiful evergreen tree, shaped like a small Lombardy 
poplar, which is the principal ornament of the churchyards 
and cemeteries abroad, is unfortunately too tender to 
endure the winter in any of the states north of Virginia. 
South of that state, it may probably become naturalized, 
and serve to add to the catalogue of beautiful indigenous 
evergreen trees. 

From its dark and sombre tint, and perpetual verdure, it 
is peculiarly the emblem of grief: 

" Binde you my brows with mourning Cyparesse, 
And palish twigs of deadlier poplar tree, 
Or if some sadder shades ye can devise, 
Those sadder shades vaile my light-loathing eyes." 

Bp. Hall. 



The Larch Tree. Larix. 
Nat. Ord. Coniferae. Lin. Syst. Monoecia, Monadelphia. 

The Larch is a resinous, cone-bearing tree, belonging 
to the Pine family, but differing from that genus in the 
annual shedding of its leaves like other deciduous trees. 
In Europe it is a native of the coldest parts of the Alps 
and Appenines ; and in America, is indigenous to the most 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 



269 



northern parts of the Union, and the Canadas. The leaves 
are collected in little bunches, and the branches shoot out 
from the main stem in a horizontal, or, more generally, 
in a declining position. 




[Fig. 39. The European Larch.] 



For picturesque beauty, the Larch is almost unrivalled. 
Unlike most other trees which must grow old, uncouth, and 
misshapen before they can attain that expression, this is 
singularly so, as soon almost as it begins to assume the 
stature of a tree. It can never be called a beautiful tree, 
so far as beauty consists in smooth outlines, a finely rounded 
head, or gracefully drooping branches. But it has what is 
perhaps more valuable, us being more rare, — the expression 
of boldness and picturesqueness peculiar to itself, and 



270 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

which it seems to have caught from the wild and rugged 
chasms, rocks, and precipices of its native mountains. 
There its irregular and spiry top and branches, harmonize 
admirably with the abrupt variation of the surrounding 
hills, and suit well with the gloomy grandeur of those 
frownins heights. 

Like all highly expressive and characteristic trees, much 
more care is necessary in introducing the Larch into 
artificial scenery judiciously, than round-headed trees. If 
planted in abundance, it becomes monotonous, from the 
similitude of its form in different specimens ; it should 
therefore be introduced sparingly, and always for some 
special purpose. This purpose may be either to give spirit 
to a group of other trees, to strengthen the already pic- 
turesque character of a scene, or to give life and variety 
to one naturally tame and uninteresting. All these objects 
can be fully effected by the Larch ; and although it is by 
far the most suited to harmonize with and strengthen the 
expression of scenery naturally grand, or picturesque, with 
which it most readily enters into combination ; yet, in the 
hands of taste, there can be no reason why so marked a 
tree should not be employed in giving additional expression 
to scenery of a tamer character. 

The extremely rapid growth of this tree when planted 
upon thin, barren, and dry soils, is another great merit 
which it possesses as an ornamental tree ; and it is also a 
necessary one to enable it to thrive well on those very 
rocky and barren soils, where it is most in character with 
the surrounding objects. It is highly valuable to produce 
effect or shelter suddenly, on portions of an estate, too thin 
or meagre in their soil to afford the sustenance necessary 
to the growth of many other deciduous trees. 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREE3. 271 

The Larch is the great timber tree of Europe. Its wood 
is remarkably heavy, strong, and durable, exceeding in all 
those qualities the best English oak. To these, it is said to 
add the peculiarity of being almost uninflammable, and 
resisting the influence of heat for a loncj time. Vitruvius 
relates that when Caesar attacked the castle of Larignum, 
near the Alps, whose gate was commanded by a tower built 
of this wood, from the top of which the besieged annoyed 
him with their stones and darts, he commanded his army to 
surround it with fan-ots, and set Are to the whole. When, 
however, all the former were consumed, he was astonished 
to find the Larch tower uninjured.* The wood is also 
recommended for the decks of vessels and the masts of 
ships, as it is little liable either to fly in splinters during an 
engagement or to catch fire readily. 

In Great Britain, immense plantations of this tree are 
made with a view to profit ; and although as yet nothing 
like rearing trees for timber has been attempted here, 
nevertheless the time must come when our attention will 
necessarily be turned in this direction. When such is the 
case, it is probable that the Larch will be found to be as 
much an object of profit on this side of the Atlantic as on 
the other. Indeed, we are much inclined to believe that 
thousands of acres of our sterile soils in some districts, 
might now be profitably planted with this tree. 

In Scotland, the Larch was first introduced in the year 
1738, when eleven plants were given to the Duke of Athol, 
who afterwards, struck by the rapidity of their growth and 
the excellency of their timber, planted thousands of acres 
with them. As a specimen of what is done in timber 

* Newton's Vitruvius, p. 40. 



272 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

growing abroad, and the peculiar capacity of the Larch for 
thriving on poor soils, we shall make some extracts from 
the account given of its growth in Scotland, by Sir T. D. 
Lauder. 

The late Duke of Athol planted large districts with this 
tree, and thereby converted the heathy wastes into valuable 
forests ; but this was not the whole of the improvement he 
thus created. The Larch being a deciduous tree, sheds 
upon the earth so great a shower of decayed spines every 
succeeding autumn, that the annual addition which is made 
to the soil cannot be less than from a third of an inch to 
half an inch, according to the magnitude of the trees. This 
we have had opportunities of proving by our remarks made 
on the surfaces of newly cleaned pleasure walks. The 
result of planting a moor with Larches then, is, that when 
the trees have grown so much as to exclude the air and 
moisture from the surface, the heath is soon exterminated ; 
and the soil gradually increasing by the decomposition of 
the leaflets annually thrown down by the Larches, grass 
begins to grow as the trees rise in elevation, so as to allow 
greater freedom for the circulation of the air below, — and 
thus, land which was not worth one shilling an acre be- 
comes most valuable pasture ; and we can say that our 
own experience amply bears out the fact.' The Duke of 
Athol found that the value of the pasture in oak copses 
was worth five or six shillings (sterling) per acre for eight 
years only in twenty-four, when the copse is cut down 
again. Under a Scotch fir plantation it is not worth six- 
pence more per acre than it was before it was planted ; 
under Beech and Spruce, it is worth less than it was before. 
But under Larch, where the ground was not worth one shil- 
ling per acre, before it was })lanted, the pasture becomes 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 273 

worth from eight to ten shillings per acre, after the first 
thirty years, when all the thinnings have been completed, 
and the trees left for naval purposes, at the rate of four 
hundred to the acre, and twelve feet apart. 

The Larch is a very quick grower. Between 1740 and 
1744, eleven trees were planted at Blair, the girths of 
which, at growths from seventy-three to seventy-six years, 
ranged from eight feet two inches to ten feet. This lot 
was calculated to average one hundred feet each, in the 
whole one thousand two hundred feet. The total measure- 
ment of this lot of twenty-two trees, therefore, is two thou- 
sand six hundred and forty-five feet, which, at the moderate 
value of two shillings per foot, would give the sum of 
£264 10s. ($1 174) for twenty-two Larch trees, of something 
under eighty years' old. We find by the Duke of Athol's 
tables of measurement, that trees planted by him in 1743 
were nine feet three inches in circumference, when mea- 
sured at four feet from the ground, in 1795. 

The plantations of Larch made by James Duke of 

Athol, between 1733 and 1759, amounted to one thousand 

nine hundred and twenty-eight trees. Of these, eight 

hundred and seventy-three were cut down between 1809 

and 1816. The Duke of Athol had the satisfaction to 

behold a British frigate built in 1819 and 1820 at Woolwich 

yard, out of timber planted at Blair and Dunkcld, by 

himself and the Duke his predecessor. And the extensive 

and increasing Larch forests of those districts may yet be 

called upon largely to supply both naval and mercantile 

dock-yards. Mankind are prone to cherish and embalm 

the memory of individuals whose claims to notoriety have 

originated in their -wide-spread destruction of the human 

race ; but they are too apt to forget those who have been 

18 



274 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

the benefactors of mankind. That a vessel formed from 
trees of his introduction and planting should have waved 
the British flag over the ocean, is likely to be all the 
reward contemporaneous or posthumous, which will ever 
adhere to the noble Duke, for the great good he has done 
to his country, and for the blessed legacy he has left to his 
descendants, by the plantation of about fifteen thousand 
five hundred and seventy-three English acres of ground, 
which consumed above twenty-seven millions, four hundred 
and thirty-one thousand, and six hundred trees. 

The following is the probable supply of Larch timber 
from Athol, beginning twelve years from 1817. 

Loads annually. Scotch acres about. 
12 years before cutting, or in 1829 

12 years before cutting, . . 1841 4,2.50 

10 do. do. . . 1851 8,000 ) 

8 do. do. . . 1859 18,000 } 2000 

8 do. do. . . 1867 30,000 ) 

16 do. do. . . 1883 52,000 '( 

3 do. do. . . 1886 120,000 



300J0 



69 j years calculated to finish ) jggg ^3^0^^ q^ 

S ( plants marked out. ) 

72 years. Scotch acres, 7000 



The Larch is unquestionably the most enduring timber 
that we have. It is remarkable, that whilst the red wood 
or heart wood is not formed at all in the' other resinous 
trees, till they have lived for a good many years, the Larch, 
on the contrary, begins to make it soon after it is planted ; 
and while you may fell a Scotch fir of thirty years old, 
and find no red wood in it, you can hardly cut down a 
young Larch large enough to be a walking stick, without 
finding just such a proportion of red wood compared to its 
diameter as a tree, as you will find in the largest Larch tree 
in the forest, compared to its diameter. To prove the 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 275 

value of the Larch as a timber tree, several experiments 
were made in the river Thames. Posts of equal thickness 
and strength, some of Larch and others of oak, were 
driven down facing the river wall, where they were 
alternately covered with water by the effect of the tide, 
and then left d;y by its fall. This species of alternation is 
the most trying of all circumstances for the endurance of 
timber ; and accordingly the oaken posts decayed, and 
were twice renewed in the course of a very few years, 
while those that were made of the Larch remained 
altogether unchanged. 

Besides the foregoing species (Larix Etiropea) we have 
two native sorts much resembling it ; which are chiefly 
found in the states of Maine, Vermont, and New 
Hampshire. These are known by the names of the Red 
Larch {L. Microcarpa) and the Black Larch {L. penduUi), 
which latter is often called Hackmatack. In the coldest 
parts of the Union, these often grow to 80 and 100 feet 
high ; but in the middle states they are only seen in 
the swamps, and appear not to thrive so well except in 
such situations. For this reason the European Larch is 
of course greatly preferable when plantations are to be 
made, either for pro^ or ornament. The latter is 
generally increased from seed in the nurseries. 

The American Larches are well worthy a place where 
sufficient moisture can be commanded, as their peculiar 
forms are striking, though not so finely picturesque as that 
of the European species. 

In the upper part of Massachusetts, we have observed 
them in their native soils growing 70 or 80 feet high, and 
assuming a highly pleasing ai)pearance. Their foliage is 
bluish-green, and more delicate ; yet altogether the Ame- 



276 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

rican Larch appears to be more stiff and formal (except 
far north) than the foreign tree. 



The Virgilia Tree. Virgilia* 

Nat. Ord. Leguminacese. Lin. Syst. Decandria, Monogynia. 

This fine American tree, still very rare in our orna- 
mental plantations, is a native of West Tennessee, and the 
banks of the Kentucky river, and in its wild localities 
seems confined to rather narrow limits. It was named, 
when first discovered, after the poet Virgil, whose 
agreeable Georgics have endeared him to all lovers of 
nature and a country life. 

The Virgilia is certainly one of the most beautiful of 
all that class of trees bearing papilionaceous, or pea-shaped 
flowers, and pinnate leaves, of which the common locust 
may serve as a familiar example. It grows to a fine, 
rather broad head, about 30 or 40 feet high, with dense 
and luxuriant foliage — much more massy and finely tufted 
than that of most other pinnated-leaved trees. Each leaf 
is composed of seven or eight leaflets, three or four inches 
long, and half that breadth, the wh^e leaf being more than 
a foot in length. These expand rather late in the spring, 
and are, about the middle of May, followed by numerous 
terminal racemes, or clusters, of the most delicate and 
charming pea-shaped blossoms, of a pure white. These 
clusters are six or eight inches in length, and quite broad, 
the flowers daintily formed, and arranged in a much more 
graceful, loose, and easy manner, than those of the locust. 

* Cladeastris tinctoria. Torrey and Gray. 



DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 277 

They have a very agreeable, slight perfume, especially in 
the evening, and the whole effect of the tree, when 
standing singly on a lawn and filled with blossoms, is 
highly elegant. 

When the blossoms disappear, they are followed by the 
pods, about the fourth of an inch wide, and three or four 
inches long, containing a few seeds. These ripen in July 
or August. 

This tree is frequently called the Yellow-wood in its 
native haunts — its heart wood abounding in a fine yellow 
coloring matter, which, however, is said to be rather 
difficult to fix, or render permanent. The bark is 
beautifully smooth, and of a greenish grey color. In 
autumn, the leaves, when they die off, take a lively yellow 
tint. 

This tree grows pretty rapidly, and is very agreeable in 
its form and foliage, even while young. It commences 
flowering when about ten or fifteen feet high, and we can 
recommend it with confidence to the amateur of choice 
trees as worthy of a conspicuous place in the smallest 
collection. 

The only species known is Virgilia lutea. It was first 
described by Michaux, and was sent to England about 
the year 1812. Quite the finest planted specimens within 
our knowledge are growing in some of the old seats in the 
northern suburbs of Philadelphia, where there are several 
thirty or forty feet in height, and exceedingly beautiful, 
both in their form and blossoms. A small specimen 
on our lawn, eighteen feet high, blossoms now very pro- 
fusely. 



278 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

The Paulownia Tree. Paulownia. 
Nat. Ord. Scrophulariaceae. Lin. Syst. 



The Paulownia is an entirely new ornamental tree, very 
lately introduced into our gardens and pleasure-grounds 
from Japan, and is likely to prove hardy here, wherever 
the Ailantus stands the winter, being naturally from the 
same soil and climate as that tree. It has already attained 
a great notoriety in the gardening world of the other 
continent ; and from a cost of four or five guineas a plant, 
it is now reduced to as many shillings, being very readily 
propagated. In the north of France it is perfectly hardy, 
and will no doubt prove equally so here, south of the 
latitude of Boston. With our own plants being newly 
received, we have not yet had the opportunity of testing 
this point. 

The Paulownia is remarkable for the large size of its 
foliage, and the great rapidity of its growth. The largest 
leaves are more than two feet in diameter, slightly rough 
or hairy, and serrated on the edges. They are heart- 
shaped, and have been likened to those of the Catalpa, but 
they perhaps more nearly resemble those of the common 
sun-flower. 

In its growth, this tree, while young, equals or exceeds 
the Ailantus. In rich soils, near Paris, it has produced 
shoots, in a single season, 12 or 14 feet in length. After 
being two or three years planted, it commences yielding 
its blossoms in panicled clusters. These are bluish hlac, 
of an open inouthed, tubular form, are very abundantly 
distributed, and, together with the large foliage, and the 
robust habit of growth, give this tree a gay and striking 



DEeiDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 279 

appearance. Its flower buds open during the last of 
April, or early in May, and have a slight, syringa-like 
perfume. 

The Paulownia, though yet very rare, is easy of 
propagation by cuttings ; and even pieces of the roots 
grow freely. Should it prove as hardy as (from our fine 
dry summers for ripening its wood) we confidently 
anticipate, it will be worthy of a prominent place in every 
arrangement of choice ornamental trees. 



280 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



SECTION V. 

EVERGREEN ORNAMENTAL TREES. 
The History and Description of all the finest Hardy Evergreen Trees. BEMARKa on 

THEIR EFFECTS in LANDSCAPE GARDENING, INDIVIDUALLY AND IN COMPOSITION. 

Their Cultivation, etc. The Pines. The Firs. Thje Cedar of Lebanon, and the 
Deodar Cedar. The Red Cedar. The Arbor Vitte. The Holly. The Yew, etc. 

Beneath the forest's skirt I rest, 

Whose branching Pines rise dark and high. 

And hear the breezes of the West 
Among the threaded foliage sigh. 

Brtakt. 

The Pine Tree. Pinus. 
Nat. Ord. Coniferae. Lin. Syst. Monoecia, Monadelphia. 



H E Pines compose by far the most 
important genus of evergreen trees. 
In either continent they form the 
densest and m.ost extensive forests 
known, and their w^ood in civil and naval architecture, 
and for various other purposes, is more generally used 
than any other. In the United States and the Canadas, 
there are ten species ; in the territory west of the 
Mississippi to the Pacific, including Mexico, there are 
fourteen ; in Europe fourteen ; in Asia, eight, and in 
Africa, two species. All the colder parts of the old world 




EVERGREEN ORNAMENTAL TREES. 281 

— the mountains of Switzerland and the Alps, the shores 
of the Baltic, vast tracts in Norway, Sweden, Germany, 
Poland, and Russia, as well as millions of acres in our 
own country, abound with immense and interminable 
forests of Pine. Capable of enduring extreme cold, 
growing on thin soils, and flourishing in an atmosphere, 
the mean temperature of which is not greater than 37° or 
38° Fahrenheit, they are found as far north as latitude 
68° in Lapland ; while on mountains they grow at a 
greater elevation than any other arborescent plant. On 
Mount Blanc, the Pines grow within 2,800 feet of the line 
of perpetual snow.* In Mexico, also, Humboldt found 
them higher than any other tree ; and Lieut. Glennie 
describes them as growing in thick forests on the mountain 
of Popocatapetl, as high as 12, 693 feet, beyond which 
altitude vegetation ceases entirely. f 

The Pines are, most of them, trees of considerable 
magnitude and lofty growth, varying from 40 to 150 or 
even 200 feet in height in favorable situations, rising with 
a perpendicular trunk, which is rarely divided into 
branches bearing much proportionate size to the main 
stem, as in most deciduous trees. The branches are 
much more horizontal than those of the latter class 
(excepting the Larch). The leaves are linear or needle- 
shaped, and are always found arranged in little parcels 
of from two to six, the number varying in the different 
species. The blossoms are produced in spring, and the 
seeds, borne in cones, are not ripened, in many sorts, until 
the following autumn. Every part of the stem abounds 
in a resinous juice, which is extracted, and forms in the 

* Edinburgh Phil. Jouni. 

t Proc. Geological Soc. Lend. Arb. Brit. 



282 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

various shapes of tar, pitch, rosin, turpentine, balsam, etc., 
a considerable article of trade and export. 

As ornamental trees, the Pines are peculiarly valuable 
for the deep verdure of their foliage, which, unchanged by 
the severity of the seasons, is beautiful at all periods, and 
especially so in winter ; for the picturesque forms which 
many of them assume when fully grown ; and for the 
effectual shelter and protection which they afford in cold, 
bleak, and exposed situations. We shall here particular- 
ize those species, natives of either hemisphere, that are 
most valuable to the planter, and are also capable of 
enduring the open air of the middle states. 

The White Pine (P. strohus), called also Sapling Pine, 
and Apple Pine, in various parts of this country, and 
Weymouth Pine abroad, is undoubtedly the most beautiful 
North American tree of the genus. The foliage is much 
lighter in color, more delicate in texture, and the whole 
tufting of the leaves more airy and pleasing than that of 
the other species. It is also beautiful in every stage of its 
growth, from a plant to a stately tree of 150 feet. When 
it grows in strong soil, it becomes thick and compact in its 
head ; but its most beautiful form is displayed when it 
stands in a dry and gravelly site ; there it shoots up with a 
majestic and stately shaft, studded every six or eight feet 
with horizontal tiers of branches and foliage. The hue of 
the leaves is much paler and less sombre than that of the 
other native sorts ; and being less stiffly set upon the 
branches, is more easily put in motion by the wind ; the 
murmuring of the wind among the Pine tops is, poetically, 
thought to give out rather a melancholy sound : — 

•' The pines of Mcenalus were heard to mourn, 
And sounds of woe along the srrove were borne," 



EVERGREEN ORNAMENTAL TREES. 283 

says Virgil, speaking of the European Pine. But the 
murmur of the shght breeze among the fohage of the 
White Pine gives out a remarkably soothing and agreeable 
sound, which agrees better with the description of Leigh 
Hunt : 



" And then there fled by me a rush of air 
That stirr'd up all the other foliage there, 
Filling the solitude with panting tongues. 
At which the Pines woke up into their songs. 
Shaking their choral locks." 

Pickering, one of our own poets, thus characterizes the 
melody : 

" The overshadowing pines alone, through which I roam, 
Their verdure keep, although it darker looks ; 
And hark ! as it comes sighing through the grove. 
The exhausted gale, a spirit there awakens, 
That wild and melancholy music makes." 

This species — the White Pine — seldom becomes flattened 
or rounded on the summit in old age, like many other sorts, 
but preserves its graceful and tapering form entire. From 
its pleasing growth and color, we consider it by far the 
most desirable kind for planting in the proximity of 
buildings, and its growth for an evergreen is also quite 
rapid. 

The leaves of the White Pine are thickly disposed on 
the branches, in little bundles or parcels of five. The 
cones are about five inches long : they hang, when nearly 
ripe, in a pendulous manner from the branches, and open, 
to shed their seeds, about the first of October. The bark 
on trees less than twenty years old is remarkably smooth, 
but becomes cracked and rough, like that of the other 



284 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

Pines, when they grow old, although it never splits and 
separates itself from the trunk in scales, as in other species. 
The great foi'ests of White Pine lie in the northern parts 
of the Union ; and the geographical range of this tree is 
comprised chiefly between New York and the 47th degree 
of north latitude, it being neither capable of resisting the 
fierce heat of the south, nor the intense cold of the extreme 
northern regions. In Maine, New Hampshire, and 
Vermont, the White Pine abounds in various situations, 
adapting itself to every variety of soil, from dry, gravelly 
upland, to swamps constantly wet. Michaux measured 
two trunks near the river Kennebec, one of which was 
154 feet long, and 54 inches in diameter; the other 144 
feet long, and 44 inches in diameter, at three feet from the 
ground. Dr. Dwight also mentions a specimen on the 
Kattskill 249 feet long, and several on the Unadilla 200 
feet long, and three in diameter.* These, though they are 
remarkable specimens, show the stately altitude which this 
fine species sometimes attains, equalling in majesty the 
grandest specimens of the old world : 

The rougher rinded Pine, 



The great Argoan ship's brave ornament, 
Which, coveting with his high top's extent 
To make the mountains touch the stars diyine. 
Decks all the forest with embellishment. 

Spenser. 

The Yellow Pine (P. mitis) is a fine evergreen, usually 
reaching a stature of 50 or 60 feet, with a nearly uniform 
diameter of about 18 inches for two-thirds of its length. 
The branches generally take a handsome conical shape, and 
the whole head considerably resembles that of the spruce, 

* Dwight's Travels, Vol. iv. p. 21—26. 



EVERGREEN ORNAMENTAL TREES. 285 

whence it is sometimes called the Spruce Pine. The term 
Yellow Pine arises from the color of the wood as contrasted 
with that of the foregoing sort, which is white. The leaves 
of this species are long and flexible, arranged in pairs upon 
tiie branches, and have a fine dark green color. The cones 
are very small, scarcely measuring an inch and a half in 
length, and are clothed on the exterior with short spines. 
The groAvth is quite slow. 

The Yellow Pine is rarely found above Albany to the 
northward, but it extends as far south as the Floridas. It 
grows in the greatest abundance in New Jersey, Maryland, 
and Virginia, and sometimes measures five or six feet in 
circumference. In plantations, it has the valuable property 
to recommend it, of growing on the very poorest lands. 

The Pitch Pine {P. rigida) is a veiy distinct sort, 
common in the whole of the United States east of the 
Alleghanies. It is very stiff and formal in its growth when 
young, but as it approaches maturity, it becomes one of the 
most picturesque trees of the genus. The branches, 
which shoot out horizontally, bend downwards at the 
extremities, and the top of the tree, when old, takes a 
flattened shape. The whole air and expression of the tree 
is wild and romantic, and is harmonious with portions of 
scenery where these characters predominate. The leaves 
are collected in threes, and the color of the foliage is a dark 
green. The cones are pyramidal, from one to three inches 
long, and armed with short spines. 

The bark of this kind of Pine is remarkably rough, 
black, and furrowed, even upon young trees ; and the wood 
is filled with resinous sap, from which pitch and tar are 
copiously supplied. . The trees grow in various parts of 
the countrv, both on the most meagre soils and in moist 



286 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

swamps, with almost equal facility. In the latter situations 
they are, however, comparatively destitute of resin, but the 
stems often rise to 80 feet in elevation. 

The foregoing are the finest and most important species 
of the north. The Red Pine (Pinus rubra) and the Grey 
Pine are species of small or secondary size, chiefly indige- 
nous to British America. The Jersey Pine (P. inops) is a 
dwarfish species, often called the Scrub Pine, which seldom 
grows more than 25 feet high. 

There are some splendid species that are confined to 
the southern states, where they grow in great luxuriance. 
Among the most interesting of these is the Long-leaved 
Pine (P. Australis), a tree of 70 feet elevation, with superb 
wandlike foliage, borne in threes, often nearly a foot in 
length. The cones are also seven or eight inches long, 
containing a kernel or seed of agreeable flavor. As this 
tree grows as far north as Norfolk in Virginia, we are 
strongly inclined to believe that it might be naturalized in 
the climate of the middle states, and think it would become 
one of the most valuable additions to our catalogue of ever- 
green trees. The Loblolly Pine {P. Taeda) of Virginia 
has also fine foliage, six inches or more in length, and 
grows to 80 feet in height. Besides these already named, 
the southern states produce the Pond Pine (P. Serotina), 
which resembles considerably the Pitch Pine, with, how- 
ever, longer leaves, and the Table Mountain Pine (P. Pun- 
gens), which grows 40 or 50 feet high, and is found exclu- 
sively upon that part of the Alleghany range. 

We must not forget in this enumeration of the Pines of 
North America, the magnificent species of California and 
the North-West coast. The most splendid of these was 
discovered in Northern California, and named the Pinus 



EVERGREEN ORNAMENTAL TREES. 287 

Lamhertiana, in honor of that distinguished botanist, A. B. 
Lambert, Esq., of London, the author of a superb work on 
this genus of trees. It is undoubtedly one of the finest 
evergreens in tiie world, averaging from 100 to 200 feet in 
height. Its discoverer, Mr. Douglass, the indefatigable 
collector of the Horticultural Society of London, measured 
one of these trees that had blown down, which was two 
hundred and fifteen feet in length, and fifty-seven feet nine 
inches in circumference, at three feet from the root ; while 
at one hundred and thirty-four feet from the root, it was 
seventeen feet five inches in girth. This, it is stated, is by 
no means the maximum height of the species. The cones 
of the Lambert Pine measure sixteen inches in length ; and 
the seeds are eaten by the natives of those regions, either 
roasted or made into cakes, after being pounded. The other 
species found by Mr. Douglass grow naturally in the 
mountain valleys of the western coast, and several of them, 
as the Pinus grandis and nohilis, are almost as lofty as 
the foregoing sort ; while Pinus monticola and P. Sahi- 
niana are highly beautiful in their forms and elegant in 
foliage. The seeds of nearly all these sorts were first sent 
to the garden of the London Horticultural Society, where 
inany of the young trees are now growing ; and we hope 
that they will soon be introduced into our plantations, 
which they are so admirably calculated, by their elegant 
foliage and stupendous magnitude, to adorn. 

The European Pines next deserve our attention. The 
most common species in the north of Europe is the Scotch 
Pine (P. sylvestris), a dark, tall, evergreen tree, with bluish 
foliage, of 80 feet in height, which furnishes most of the 
deal timber of Europe. It is one of the most rapid of all 
the Pines in its growth, even on poor soils, and is therefore 



288 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

valuable in new places. The Stone Pine (P. pinea) is a 
native of the South of Europe, where it is decidedly the 
most picturesque evergreen tree of that continent. It 
belongs peculiarly to Italy, and its " vast canopy, supported 
on a naked column of great height, forms one of the chief 
and peculiar beauties in Italian scenery, and in the living 
landscapes of Claude." We regret that it is too tender to 
bear our winters, but its place may in a great measure be 
supplied by the Pinaster or Cluster Pine (P. pinaster), 
which is quite hardy, and succeeds well in the United 
States. This has much of the same picturesque expression, 
depressed or rounded head, and tall columnar stem, which 
mark the Stone Pine ; while its thickly massed foliage, 
clustering cones, and rough bark, render it distinct and 
strikingly interesting. 

The Corsican Pine {P. larica) is a handsome, regular 
shaped, pyramidal tree, with the branches disposed in tiers 
like those of the White Pine. It grows to a large size, and 
is valued for its extremely dark green foliage, thickly spread 
upon the branches. It is also one of the most rapid growers 
among the foreign sorts, and has been found to grow 
remarkably well upon the barren chalk do\\nis of England. 
Pinus cemhra is a very slow growing, though valuable 
kind, indigenous to Switzerland, and hardy here. 

These are the principal European species that deserve 
notice here for their ornamental qualities. Some splendid 
additions have been made to this genus, by the discovery 
of new species on the Himalaya mountains of Asia ; and 
from the great elevation at which they are found growing 
wild, we have reason to hope that they will become natu- 
ralized in our climate. 

We must not leave this extensive familv of trees without 



EVERGREEN ORNAMENTAL TREES. 289 

adverting to their numerous and important uses. In the 
United States, full four-fifths of all the houses built are con- 
structed of the White and Yellow Pine, chiefly of the former. 
Soft, easily worked, light and fine in texture, it is almost 
universally employed in carpentry, and for all the purposes 
of civil architecture ; while the tall stately trunks furnish 
masts and spars, not only for our own vessels, but many of 
those of England. A great commerce is therefore carried 
on in the timber of this tree, and vast quantities of the 
boards, etc., are annually exported to Europe. The Yellow 
and Pitch Pine furnish much of the enormous supplies of 
fuel consumed by the great number of steamboats employed 
in navigating our numerous inland rivers. The Long- 
leaved Pine is the great timber tree of the southern states ; 
and when we take into account all its various products, we 
must admit it to be the most valuable tree of the whole 
family. The consumption of the wood of this tree in build- 
ing, in the southern states, is immense ; and its sap furnishes 
nearly all the turpentine, tar, pitch, and rosin, used in this 
country, or exported to Europe. The turpentine flows from 
large incisions made in the trunk (into boxes fastened to 
the side of the trees for that purpose) during the whole of 
the spring and summer. Spirit of turpentine is obtained 
from this by distillation. Tar is procured by burning the 
dead wood in kilns, when it flows out in a current from a 
conduit made in the bottom. Pitch is prepared by boiling 
tar until it is about one half diminished in bulk ; and rosin 
is the residuum of the distillation when spirit of turpentine 
is made. The Carolinas produce all these in the greatest 
abundance, and so long ago as 1807, the exportation of 
them to England alc^ne amounted to nearly $800,000 in 

that single year. 

19 



290 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

The Fir Trees. Abies. 
Nat. Ord. ConiferEe. Lin. Syst. Moncecia, Monadelphia. 

The Fir trees differ from the Pines, to which they are 
nearly related, in having much shorter leaves, which are 
placed singly upon the branches, instead of being collected 
in little bundles or parcels of two, three, or five, as is the 
case in all Pines. They generally grow in a more conical 
manner than the latter, and in ornamental plantations owe 
their beauty in most cases more to their symmetrical 
regularity of growth than to picturesque expression. 

The Balsam, or Balm of Gilead Fir (A. halsamea), 
sometimes also called the American Silver Fir, is one of 
the most ornamental of our native evergreens. It is found 
most abundantly in Maine and Nova Scotia, but is 
scattered more or less on the mountain tops, and in cold 
swamps, through various other parts of the Union. At 
Pine Orchard, near the Catskili Mountain-house, it 
flourishes well, though never seen below the elevation of 
1,800 feet. When standing singly, it forms a perfect 
pyramid of fine dark green foliage, 30 or 40 feet high, 
regularly clothed from the bottom to the top. The leaves, 
about half or three-fourths of an inch long, are silvery 
white on the under surface, though dark green above ; and 
are inserted both on the sides and tops of the branches. It 
is one of the most beautiful evergreens for planting in 
grounds near the house, and is perhaps more cultivated for 
that purpose than any other in the Union. The cones, 
which are four or five inches long, like those of the 
European Silver Fir point upwards. However small the 
plants of this Fir may be, they are still interesting, as they 



EVERGREEN ORNAMENTAL TREES. 291 

display the same symmetry as full grown trees. The deep 
green color of the verdure of the Balm of Gilead Fir is 
retained unchanged in all its beauty through the severest 
winters, which causes it to contrast agreeably with the 
paler tints of the Spruces. On the trunks of trees of this 
species are found small vesicles or blisters, filled with a 
liquid resin, which is extracted and sold under the name 
of Balm of Gilead,* for its medicinal virtues. 

The European Silver Fir (A.picea) strongly resembles, 
when young, the Balsam Fir. But its leaves are longer 
and coarser, and the cones are much larger, while it also 
attains twice or three times the size of the latter. In the 
forests of Germany it sometimes rises over 100 feet ; and 
it always becomes a large tree in a favorable soil. It 
grows slowly during the first twenty years, but afterwards 
advances with much more rapidity. It thrives well, and 
is quite hardy in this country. 

The Norway Spruce Fir (A. communis^) is by far the 
handsomest of that division of the Firs called the Spruces. 
It generally rises with a perfectly straight trunk to the 
height of from 80 to 150 feet. It is a native, as its name 
denotes, of the colder parts of Europe, and consequently 
grows well in the northern states. The branches hang 
down with a fine graceful curve or sweep ; and although 
the leaves are much paler than those of the foregoing 
kinds, yet the thick fringe-like tufts of foliage which clothe 
the branches, give the whole tree a rich, dark appearance. 
The large cones, too, always nearly six inches long, are 



* The tnie Balm ot Gilead is an Asiatic herb, Amyria gileadensis. 
t Abies ezcelsa. 



292 LANDSCAPE GARDENING, 

beautifully pendent, and greatly increase the beauty of an 
old tree of this kind. 

The Norway Spruce is the great tree of the Alps ; and 
as a park tree, to stand alone, we scarcely know a more 
beautiful one. It then generally branches not quite down 
to the ground ; and its fine, sweeping, feathery branches 
hang down in the most graceful and pleasing manner. 
There are some superb specimens of this species in various 
gardens of the middle states, 80 or 100 feet high. 

The Black, or I)ouble Spruce (A. nigra), sometimes also 
called the Red Spruce, is very common in the north ; and, 
according to Michaux, forms a third part of the forests of 
Vermont, Mame, New Hampshire, as well as New Bruns- 
wick and Lower Canada. The leaves are quite short and 
stiff, and clothe the young branches around the whole 
surface ; and the whole trSe, where it much abounds, has 
rather a gloomy aspect. In the favorable humid black soils 
of those countries, the Black Spruce grows 70 feet high, 
forming a fine tall pyramid of verdure. But it is rarely 
found in abundance further south, except in swamps, where 
its growth is much less strong and vigorous. Mingled 
with other evergreens, it adds to the variety, and the 
peculiar coloring of its foliage gives value to the livelier 
tints of other species of Pine and Fir. 

The White or Single Spruce (A. alba) is a smaller and 
less common tree than the foregoing, though it is often 
found in the same situations. The leaves are more thinly 
arranged on the young shoots, and they are longer and 
project more from the branches. The color, however, is a 
distinguishing characteristic between the two sorts ; for 
while in the Black Spruce it is very dark, in this species it 



EVERGREEN ORNAMENTAL TREES. 293 

is of a light bluish green tint. The cones are also much 
larger on the White Spruce tree. 

The Hemlock Spruce, or, as it is more commonly called, 
the Hernlock (vi. canadensis), is one of the finest and most 
distinct of this tribe of trees. It is most abundantly 
multiplied in the extreme northern portions of the Union ; 
and abounds more or less, in scattered groups and thickets, 
throughout all the middle states, while at the south it is 
confined chiefly to the mountains. 

It prefers a soil, which, though slightly moist, is less humid 
than that where the Black Spruce succeeds best ; and it 
thrives well in the deep cool shades of mountain valleys. 
In the Highlands of the Hudson it grows in great luxuri- 
ance ; and in one locality, the sides of a valley near Crow's 
nest, the surface is covered with the most superb growths 
of this tree,, reaching up from the water's edge to the very 
summit of the hill, 1,400 feet high, like a rich and shadowy 
mantle, sprinkled here and there only with the lighter and 
more delicate foliage of deciduous trees. 

The average height of the Hemlock in good soils is about 
70 or 80 feet ; and when standing alone, or in very small 
groups, it is one of the most beautiful coniferous trees. The 
leaves are disposed in two rows on each side of the branches, 
and considerably resemble those of the Yew, though looser 
in texture, and livelier in color. The foliage, when the 
tree has grown to some height, hangs from the branches in 
loose pendulous tufts, which give it a peculiarly graceful 
appearance. When young, the form of the head is 
regularly pyramidal ; but when the tree attains more age, 
it often assumes very irregular and picturesque forms. 



294 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

Sometimes it grows up in a thick, dense, dark mass of 
foliage, only varied by the pendulous branches, which 
project beyond the grand mass of the tree ; at others it 
forms a loose, airy, and graceful top, permeable to the 
slightest breeze, and waving its loose tufts of leaves to 
every passing breath of air. In almost all cases, it is 
extremely ornamental, and we regret that it is not more 
generally employed in decorating the grounds of our 
residences. It should be transplanted (like all of this class 
of trees) quite early in the spring, the roots being preserved 
as nearly entire as possible, and not suffered to become the 
least dried, before they are replaced in the soil. 

The uses of the Fir tree are important. The Norway 
Spruce Fir furnishes the white deal timber so extensively 
employed in Europe for all the various purposes of 
building ; and its tall, tapering stems afford fine masts for 
vessels. The Black Spruce timber is also highly valuable, 
and is thought by many persons to surpass in excellence 
that of the Norway Spruce. The young shoots also enter 
into the composition of the celebrated Spruce beer of this 
country, a delightful and very healthful beverage. And 
the Hemlock not only furnishes a vast quantity of the 
joists used in building frame-houses, but supplies the 
tanners with an abundance of bark, which, when mixed 
with that of the oak, is highly esteemed in the preparation 
of leather. 

We regret that the fine evergreen trees both of this 
country and Europe, which compose the Pine and Fir 
tribes, have not hitherto received more of the attention 
of planters. It is inexpressible how much they add to the 



EVERGREEN ORNAMENTAL TREES. 295 

beauty of a country residence in winter. At that season, 
when, during three or four months the landscape is 
bleak and covered with snow, these noble trees, properly 
intermingled with the groups in view from the window, 
or those surrounding the house, give an appearance of 
verdure and life to the scene which cheats winter of half 
its dreariness. In exposed quarters, also, and in all windy 
and bleak situations, groups of evergreens form the most 
effectual shelter at all seasons of the year, while many 
of them have the great additional recommendation of 
growing upon the most meagre soils. 

In fine country residences abroad, it is becoming 
customary to select some extensive and suitable locality, 
where all the species of Pines and Firs are collected 
together, and allowed to develope themselves in their 
full beauty of proportion. Such a spot is called a Pinetum ; 
and the effect of all the different species growing in the 
same assemblage, and contrasting their various forms, 
heights, and peculiarities, cannot but be strikingly ele- 
gant. One of the largest and oldest collections of this 
kind is the Pinetum of Lord Grenville, at Dropmore, near 
Windsor, England. This contains nearly 100 kinds, 
comprising all the sorts known to English botanists, that 
will endure the open air of their mild climate. The great 
advantage of these Pinetums is, that many of the more 
delicate species, which if exposed singly would perish, 
thrive well, and become quite naturalized under the shelter 
of the more hardy and vigorous sorts. 



296 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

The Cedar of Lebanon Tree. Cedrus. 
Nat. Ord. Conifera;. Lin. Syst. MoncEcia, Monadelphia. 

The Cedar of Lebanon is universally admitted by 
European authors to be the noblest evergreen tree of 
the old world. Its native sites are the elevated valleys 
and ridges of Mount Lebanon and the neighboring heights 
of the lofty groups of Asia Minor. There it once covered 
immense forests, but it is supposed these have never 
recovered from the inroads made upon them by the forty 
score thousand hewers employed by Solomon to procure 
the timber for the erection of the Temple. Modern 
travellers speak of them as greatly diminished in number, 
though there are still specimens measuring thirty-six feet 
in circumference. Mount Lebanon is inhabited by nu- 
merous Maronite Christians, who hold annually a 
celebration of the Transfiguration under the shade of 
the existing trees, which they call the " Feast of Cedars.'^ 

The Cedar of Lebanon is nearly related to the Larch, 
having its leaves collected in parcels like that tree, but 
differs widely in the circumstance of its foliage being 
evergreen. It is remarkable for the wide Extension of its 
branches, and the immense surface covered by its 
•overshadowing canopy of foliage. In the sacred writings 
it is often alluded to as an emblem of great strength, beauty, 
and duration. "Behold the Assyrian was a Cedar in 
Lebanon, with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, 
and of an high stature ; and his top was among the thick 
boughs. His boughs were multiplied, and his branches 
became long. The fir trees were not like his boughs, nor 



EVERGREEN ORNAMENTAL TREES, 



297 



the chestnut trees like his branches, nor any tree in the 
garden of God Hke unto him in beauty."* 

In England the Cedar of Lebanon appears to have 
become quite naturalized. There it is considered by far 
the most ornamental of all the Pine tribe, — possessing, 
when full grown, an air of dignity and grandeur beyond 
any other tree. To attain the fullest beauty of develop- 
ment, it should always stand alone, so that its far-spreading 
horizontal branches can have full room to stretch out and 
expand themselves on every side. Loudon, in his 
Arboretum, gives a representation of a superb specimen 
now growing at Sion House, the seat of the Duke of 
Northumberland, which is 72 feet high, 24 in circum- 
ference, and covers an area, with its huge depending 
branches, of 117 feet. There are many other Cedars in 
England almost equal to this in grandeur. Sir T. D. 
Lauder gives an account of one at Whitton, which blew 
down in 1779 : it then measured 70 feet in height, 16 feet 
in circumference, and covered an area of 100 feet in 
diameter. To show the rapidity of the growth of this tree, 
he quotes three Cedars of Lebanon, which were planted at 
Hopetoun House, Scotland, in the year 1748. The mea- 
surement is the circumference of the trunks, and shows 
the rapid increase after they have attained a large size. 



First Cedar, 
Second do. 
Third do. 



1801. 


1820. 


1825. 


1833. 


ft. in. 

10 
8 6 
7 10 


ft. in. 

13 li 

10 9i 

9 9i 


ft. in. 
14 
11 4 
10 8 


ft. in. 
15 1 
12 3 
11 G 



Increase in 
32 years. 



ft. in. 

5 1 

3 9 

3 8 



A Chestnut measured -at the same periods, only increased 2 7 



Ezekiel xxxi. 



298 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

From the above table, it will be seen how congenial even 
the cold climate of Scotland is to the growth of this tree. 
Indeed in its native soils, the tops of the surrounding hills 
are almost perpetually covered with snow, and it is, there- 
fore, one of the very hardiest of the evergreens of the old 
world. There is no reason why it should not succeed 
admirably in many parts of the United States ; and when 
we consider its great size, fine dark green foliage, and wide 
spreading limbs which 

" Overarching, frame 



Most solemn domes within," 

Shelley. 

as well as the many interesting associations connected 
with it, we cannot but think it better worth our early 
attention, and extensive introduction, than almost any 
other foreign tree. Evergreens are comparatively difficult 
to import, and as we have made the experiment of 
importing Cedars of Lebanon from the Enghsh nurseries 
with but indifferent success, we would advise that persons 
attempting its cultivation should procure the cones 
containing the seeds from England, when they may be 
reared directly in our own soil, which will of course be an 
additional advantage to the future growth of the tree.* 

The situations found to be most favorable to this Cedar, 
in the parks and gardens of Europe, are sandy or gravelly 
soils, either with a moist subsoil underneath, or in the 
neighborhood of springs, or bodies of water. In such places 
it is found to advance with a rapidity equal to the Larch, 

* The finest Cedar of Lebanon in the Union, is growing in the grounds of 
T. Ash, Esq., of Westchester Co., N. Y., being 50 feet high and of 
correspondmg breadth. It stands near a Purple-leaved Beech, equally large 
and beautiful. 



EVERGREEN ORNAMENTAL TREES. 299 

one of the fastest growing timber trees, as we have already 
noticed. 

The Deodara, or Indian Cedar {Cedrus Deodara), is a 
magnificent species of this tree, recently introduced from 
the high mountains of Nepal and Indo-Tartary. It stands 
the climate of Scotland, and appears likely to succeed here 
wherever the Cedar of Lebanon will flourish. In its native 
country it is described as being a lofty and majestic tree, 
frequently attaining the height of 150 feet, with a trunk 30 
feet in circumference. The leaves are larger than those 
of the Cedar of Lebanon, of a deeper bluish green, covered 
with a silvery bloom ; the cones, borne in pairs, are of a 
reddish brown color, and are both longer and broader than 
those of the latter species. In some parts of Upper India 
it is considei'ed a sacred tree {Deodara — tree of God), and 
is only used to burn as incense in days of high ceremony; 
but in others it is held in the highest esteem as a timber 
tree, having all the good qualities of the Cedar of Lebanon 
— its great durability being attested by its sound state in 
the roofs of temples of , that country, which cannot have 
been built less than 200 years. 

We have but just introduced the Deodara into the United 
States, and can therefore say little of its growth or beauty 
here, though we have little doubt that it will prove one of 
the noblest evergreen trees for our pleasure grounds. Lou- 
don sa3"s, " the specimens in England are yet small ; but 
the feathery lightness of its spreading branches, and the 
beautiful glaucous hue of its leaves, render it, even when 
young, one of the most ornamental of the coniferous trees ; 
and all the travellers who have seen it full grown, agree 
that it unites an extraordinary degree of majesty and gran- 
deur with its beauty. The tree thrives in every part of 



300 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

Great Britain where it has been tried, even as far north as 
Aberdeen, where, as in many other places, it is found 
hardier than the Cedar of Lebanon. It is readily propa- 
gated by seeds, which preserve their vitality when imported 
in the cones. It also grows freely by cuttings, which appear 
to make as handsome free-growing plants as those raised 
from seed." The soil and culture for this tree are pre- 
cisely those for the Cedar of Lebanon. 



The Red Cedar Tree. Juniperus. 
Nat. Ord. Conilerse. Liu. Syst. DicEcia, Monadelphia. 

The Red Cedar is a very common tree, indigenous to 
this country, and growing in considerable abundance from 
Maine to Florida ; but thriving with the greatest luxuriance 
in the sea-board states. When fully grown, the Red Cedar 
is about 40 feet in height, and little more than a foot in 
diameter. The leaves are very small, composed of minute 
scales, and lie pretty close to the branches. Small blue 
berries, borne thickly upon the branches of the female trees 
in autumn and winter, contain the seeds. These are 
covered with a whitish exudation, and are sometimes used, 
like those of the foreign juniper, in the manufacture of gin. 

The Red Cedar has less to recommend it to the eye than 
most of the evergreens which we have already described. 
The color of the foliage is dull and dingy at many seasons, 
and the form of the young tree is too compactly conical to 
please generally. When old, however, we have seen it 
throw off this formality, and become an interesting, and 
indeed a picturesque tree. Then its branches shooting out 



EVERGREEN ORNAMENTAL TREES. 301 

in a horizontal direction, clad with looser and more pendent 
foliage, give the whole tree quite another character. The 
twisted stems, too, when they become aged, have a singular, 
dried-looking, whitish bark, which is quite unique and 
peculiar. There is a very fine natural avenue of Red 
Cedars near Fishkill landing, in Duchess Co., composed of 
two rows of noble trees 35 or 40 feet hiffh, which is a verv 
agreeable walk in winter and early spring. This has given 
the name of Cedar Grove to the country seat in question, 
where the Red Cedar grows spontaneously upon a slate 
subsoil with great luxuriance. There the trees are dis- 
seminated widely by the birds, which feed with avidity 
upon the berries. 

The Red Cedar is well known to every person as one of 
our very best timber trees. It takes its name from the 
reddish hue of the perfect wood. This has a fragrant odor, 
and is not only light, fine-grained, and close in texture, but 
extremely durable. It is therefore much employed (though 
of late it is becoming scarcer) in conjunction with Live 
oak, which is too heavy alone, in ship-building. It is also 
valued for its great durability as posts for fencing; and is 
exported to Europe, to be used in the manufacture of pen- 
cils, and other useful purposes. 



The Arbor Yit.t. Tree. Thuja. 

Nat. Ord. Coniferse. Lin. Syst. Moncecia, Monadelphia. 

The Arbor Vitae {Thuja occidentalis), sometimes also 
called Flat Cedar, or White Cedar, is distinguished from 



302 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

most evergreens by its flat foliage, composed of a great 
number of scales closely imbricated, or overlaying each 
other, which give the whole a compressed appearance. 
The seeds are borne in a small cone, usually not more than 
half an inch in length. 

This tree is extremely formal and regular in outline 
in almost every stage of growth ; generally assuming the 
shape of an exact cone or pyramid of close foliage, of con- 
siderable extent at the base, close to the ground, and nar- 
rowing upwards to a sharp point. So regular is their 
outline in many cases, when they are growing upon 
favorable soils, that at a short distance they look as if they 
had been subjected to the clipping-shears. The sameness 
of its form precludes the employment of this evergreen in 
so extensive a manner as most others; that is, in inter- 
mingling it promiscuously with other trees of less artificial 
forms. But the Arbor Vitee, from this very regularity, is 
well suited to support and accompany scenery when objects 
of an avowedly artificial character predominate, as buildings, 
etc., where it may be used with a very happy effect. There 
is also no evergreen tree indigenous or introduced, which 
will make a more effectual, close, and impervious screen 
than this : and as it thrives well in almost every soil, moist, 
dry, rich, or poor, we strongly recommend it whenever 
such thickets are desirable. We have ourselves tried the 
experiment with a hedge of it about 200 feet long, which 
was transplanted about five or six feet high from the native 
habitats of the young trees, and which fully answers our 
expectations respecting it, forming a perfectly thick screen, 
and an excellent shelter on the north of a range of buildings 
at all seasons of the year, growing perfectly thick without 
trimming, from the very ground upwards. 



EVERGREEN ORNAMENTAL TREES. 303 

The only fault of this tree as an evergreen, is the 
comparatively dingy green hue of its foliage in winter. 
But to compensate for this, it is remarkably fresh looking 
in its spring, summer, and autumn tints, comparing well at 
those seasons even with the bright verdure of deciduous 
trees. 

The Arbor Vitae is very abundant in New Brunswick, 
Vermont, and Maine. In New York, the shores of the 
Hudson, at Hampton landing, 70 miles above the city of 
New York, are lined on both sides with beautiful speci- 
mens of this tree, many of them being perfect cones in 
outline ; and it is here much more symmetrical and perfect 
in its growth than we have seen it. Forty feet is about 
the maximum altitude of the Arbor Vitae, and the stem 
rarely measures more than ten or twelve inches in 
diameter. 

The wood is very light, soft, and fine-grained, but is 
reputed to be equally durable with the Red Cedar. It 
is consequently employed for various purposes in build- 
ing and fencing, where, in the northern districts, it 
grows in sufficient *bundance, and of suitable size. 

The Chinese Arbor Vitae (T. orientalis) is a tree of 
much smaller and more feeble growth. It cannot, 
therefore, as an ornamental tree, be put in competition 
with our native species. But it is a beautiful evergreen 
for the garden and shrubbery, where it finds a more 
suitable and sheltered site, being rather tender north of 
New York. 

The White Cedar {Thuja spheroida*), which belongs 
to the same genus as the Arbor Vitae, is a much loftier 

* Cupressus thuyoides of the old botanists. 



304 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

tree, often growing 80 feet high. It can hardly be 
considered a tree capable of being introduced into 
cultivated situations, as it is found only in thick swamps 
and wet grounds. The foliage considerably resembles 
that of the common Arbor Vitee, though rather narrower, 
and more delicate in texture. The cones are small and 
rugged, and change from green to a blue or bro^vn tint in 
autumn. In the south it is often called the Juniper. 

The White Cedar furnishes excellent shingles, much 
more durable than those made of either Pine or Cypress ; 
in Philadelphia the wood is much esteemed and greatly 
used in cooperage. " Charcoal," according to Michaux, 
"highly esteemed in the manufacture of gunpowder, is 
made of young stocks, about an inch and a half in 
diameter, deprived of their bark ; and the seasoned wood 
affords beautiful lamp-black, lighter and more intensely 
colored than that obtained from the Pine." 



The American Holly T^ps. Ilex. 

Nat. Ord. Aquifoliaceae. Lin. Sijst. Dioecia, Tetrandria. 

The European Holly is certainly one of the evergreen 
glories of the English gardens. There its deep green, 
glossy foliage, and bright coral berries, which hang on for 
a long time, are seen enlivening the pleasure-grounds and 
shrubberies throughout the whole of that leafless and 
inactive period in vegetation — winter. It is also, in our 
mother tongue, inseparably connected with the delightful 
associations of merry Christmas gambols and feastings, 
when both the churches and the dwellin2;-houses are 



EVERGREEN ORNAMENTAL TREES. 305 

decorated with its boughs. We have much to regret, 
therefore, in the severity of our winters, which will not 
permit the European Holly to flourish in the middle or 
eastern states, as a hardy tree. South of Philadelphia, it 
may become acclimated ; but it appears to suffer greatly 
further north. 

A beautiful succedaneum, however, may, we believe, be 
found in the American Holly {Ilex opaca), which indeed 
very closely resembles the foreign species in almost every 
particular. The leaves are waved or irregular in surface 
and outline, though not so much so as those of the latter, 
and their color is a much lighter shade of green. Like 
those of the foreign plant, they are armed on the edges 
with thorny prickles, and the surface is brilliant and 
polished. The American Holly is seen in the greatest 
perfection on the eastern shore of Maryland and Virginia, 
and the lower part of New Jersey. There it thrives 
best upon loose, dry, and gravelly soils. Michaux says 
it is also common through all the extreme southern states, 
and in West Tennessee, in which latter places it abounds 
on the margins of shady swamps, where the soil is cool 
and fertile. In such spots it often reaches forty feet in 
height, and twelve or fifteen inches in diameter. 

Although the growth of the Holly is slow, yet it is 

always beautiful ; and we regret that the American sort, 

which may be easily brought into cultivation, is so very 

rarely seen in our gardens or grounds. The seeds are 

easily procured, and if scalded and sowed in autumn, 

immediately after being gathered, they vegetate freely. 

For hedges the Holly is altogether unrivalled ; and it was 

also one of the favorite plants for verdant sculpture, in the 

ancient style of gardening. Evelyn, in the edition of his 

20 



306 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

Sylva, published in London in 1664, thus bursts out in 
eloquent praise of it : " Above all natural greens which 
enrich our home-born store, there is none certainly to be 
compared to the Holly ; insomuch that I have often 
wondered at our curiosity after foreign plants and expen- 
sive difficulties, to the neglect of the culture of this vulgar 
but incomparable tree, — whether we will propagate it for 
use and defence, or for sight and ornament. Is there 
under heaven a, more glorious and refreshing object of the 
kind, than an impregnable hedge of one hundred and 
sixty-five feet in length, seven high, and five in diameter, 
which I can show in my poor gardens, at any time of the 
year, glittering with its armed and varnished leaves ? The 
taller standards at orderly distances blushing with their 
natural coral. It mocks the rudest assaults of the weather, 
beasts, or hedge-breaker : — 

' Et ilium nemo impune lacessit.' " 



The Yew Tree. Taxus. 
Nat. Ord. Taxaceae. Lin. Syst. MoncBcia, Monadelphia. 

The European Yew is a slow-growing, evergreen tree, 
which often, when full grown, measures forty feet in height, 
and a third more in the diameter of its branches. The 
foliage is flat, linear, and is placed in two rows, like that of 
the Hemlock tree, though much darker in color. The 
flowers are brown or greenish, and inconspicuous, but they 
are succeeded by beautiful scarlet berries, about half or 
three-fourths of an inch in diameter, which are open at 
the end, where a small nut or seed is deposited. These 



EVERGREEN ORNAMENTAL TREES. 307 

berries have an exquisitely delicate, waxen appearance, 
and contribute highly to the beauty of the tree. 

The growth of this tree, even in its native soil, is by no 
means rapid. In twenty years, says Loudon, it will attain 
the height of fifteen or eighteen feet, and it will continue 
growing for one hundred years ; after which it becomes 
comparatively stationary, but will live many centuries. 

When young, the Yew is rather compact and bushy in 
its form ; but as it grows old, the foliage spreads out in fine 
horizontal masses, the outline of the tree is irregularly 
varied, and the whole ultimately becomes highly venerable 
and picturesque. When standing alone, it generally shoots 
out into branches at some three or four feet above the 
surface of the ground, and is ramified into a great number 
of close branches. 




[Fig. 40. The English Yew.J 



In England, it has been customary, since the earliest 
settlement of that island by the Britons, to plant the Yew 
in churchyards ; and it is therefore as decidedly conse- 
crated to this purpose there, as the Cypress is in the south 



308 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

of Europe. For the decoration of places of burial it is 
well adapted, from the deep and perpetual verdure of its 
foliage, which, conjointly with its great longevity, may be 
considered as emblematical of immortality. The custom 
still exists, in a few places in Ireland and Wales, of 
carrying twigs of this and other evergreen trees in fune- 
rals, and throwing them into the grave, with the corpse.* 

" Yet strew 

Upon my disniall grave 

Such offerings as ye have. 

Forsaken Cypresse and Yewe; 

For kinder flowers can have no birth 

Or growth from such unhappy earth." 

Stajtly, 

There is a mournful yet sweet and pensive pleasure, in 
thus adorning these last places of repose with such 
beautiful, unfading memorials of grief. They rob the 
graveyard or cemetery of its horrors, and by their 
perpetual garlands of verdure and freshness, inevitably 
lead the mind from the ideas of death which an ordinary 
barren churchyard alone inspires, to reflections of a purer 
and loftier cast ; the immortality which awaits the soul 
when disenthralled of clay. Among the old English poets, 
we find much of these feelings in favor of decorating the 
precincts of the grave, and surrounding them with what 
may be called the poetry of grief. Herrick, one of the 
sweetest of the number, in some lines addressed to the 
Cypress and Yew, says : 

" Bothe of ye have 
Relation to the grave ; 
And where 
The funeral trump sounds, you are there. 

* Encyclopaedia of Plants, 849. 



EVERGREEN ORNAMENTAL TREES. 309 

I shall be made 
Ere longe a fleeting shade ; 

Pray come, 
And do some honor to my tomb." 

Some of the old Yews in the churchyards and gardens 
of England have attained a wonderful period of longevity. 
Gilpin mentions one in the churchyard of Tisbury in 
Dorsetshire, now standing and in fine foliage, though the 
trunk is quite hollow, which measures thirty-seven feet in 
circumference, and the limbs are proportionately large. 
The tree is entered by a rustic gate ; and seventeen persons 
lately breakfasted in its interior. It is said to have been 
planted many generations ago by the Arundel family. The 
famous Yew at Arkenwyke House, which Henry VIII. 
made his place of meeting with Anna Boleyn when she 
was there, is supposed to be upwards of a thousand years 
old ; it is forty-nine feet high, twenty-seven in circumfer- 
ence, and the branches extend over an area of two hundred 
and seven feet. There are, besides these, a great number 
of other celebrated Yews in England, of immense size and 
age, which are preserved with the greatest care and 
veneration. 

It is a common saying of the inhabitants of the New 
Forest in England, says Gilpin, that " a post of Yew will 
outlast a post of iron. The wood is extremely durable, 
and being hard and very fine-grained, as well as beau- 
tifully variegated with reddish or orange veins, it is 
much prized for inlaying, veneering, and other similar 
purposes by the cabinet-makers abroad. Tables made of 
it are said to be more beautiful than those of mahogany ; 
and the wood of the root to vie in beauty with that of the 
Citron. 



310 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

It is also remarkably elastic, and is therefore much valued 
for bows. In ancient times, when bows and arrows were 
the chief weapons of destruction in war, the bows made 
of the Yew tree were valued by the ancient Britons above 
all others. According to the Arboretum Britannicum, in 
Switzerland, where this tree was scarce, it was formerly 
forbidden, under heavy penalties, to cut down the Yew for 
any other purpose than to make bows of the wood. The 
Swiss mountaineers call it " WilHam's tree," in memory 
of William Tell. 

The Yew, like the Holly, makes an excellent evergreen 
hedge — close, dark green, and beautiful when clad in the 
rich scarlet berries. We desire, however, rather to see 
this tree naturalized in our gardens and lawns as an 
evergreen tree of the first class, than in any other form. 
Judging from specimens which we have growing in our 
own grounds, we should consider it quite hardy anywhere 
south of the 41° of latitude. And although it is somewhat 
slow in its growth, yet, like many other evergreens, it is as 
beautiful when a small bush or a thrifty young tree, as it is 
venerable and picturesque when ages or even centuries 
have witnessed its never failing verdure. It appears to 
grow most vigorously and thrive best on a rich and heavy 
soil, and in situations rather shaded than exposed to a 
burning sun. 

There are several beautiful varieties of the Yew (Taxus 
baccata) cultivated in the nurseries; the Irish Yew (T. h. 
fastigiata), remarkable for its dark green foliage, and very 
handsome, upright growth, and the Yellow berried Yew 
(T. b.fructo-Jlava), are the most ornamental. 

The North American Yew (T. canadensis) is a low 



EVEttGREEN ORNAMENTAL TREES. 311 

trailing shrub, scarcely rising above the height of four or 
six feet, though the branches extend to a considerable 
distance. In foliage, berries, etc., it so strongly resembles 
the European plant, that many botanists consider it only a 
dwarf variety. The leaves are nevertheless shorter and 
narrower, and the male flowers always solitary. It is 
found in shady, rocky places, in the Highlands, and various 
other localities from Canada to Virginia. 



312 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



SECTION VL 



VINES AND CLIMBING PLANTS. 

Value of this kind of Vegetation. Fine natural effects. The European Ivy. The 
Virginia Creeper. The Wild Grape Vine. The Bittersweet. The Trumpet Creeper. 
The Pipe Vine, and the Clematis. The Wistarias. The Honeysuckles and Wood- 
bines. The Jasmine and the Periploca. Remarks on the proper mode of introducing 
vines. Beautiful effects of climbing plants in connexion with buildings. 

Quite over-canopied with lush woodbine, 
With sweet musk roses, and with eglantine. 

Shakspeake. 



I N E S and climbing plants are 
objects full of interest for the Land- 
scape Gardener, for they seem 
endowed with the characteristics 
of the graceful, the beautiful, and 
the picturesque, in their luxuriant 
and ever-varying forms. When judiciously introduced, 
therefore, nothing can so easily give a spirited or graceful 
air to a fine or even an ordinary scene, as the various 
plants which compose this group of the vegetable kingdom. 
We refer particularly now to those which have woody 
and perennial stems, as all annual or herbaceous stemmed 
plants are too short-lived to afford any lasting or 
permanent addition to the beauty of the lawn or plea- 
sure-ground. 




VINES AND CLIMBING PLANTS. 313 

Climbing plants may be classed among the adventitious 
beauties of trees. Who has not often witnessed with 
delight in our native forests, the striking beauty of a noble 
tree, the old trunk and fantastic branches of which were 
enwreathed with the luxuriant and pliant shoots and rich 
foliage of some beautiful vine, clothing even its decayed 
limbs with verdure, and hanging down in gay festoons or 
loose negligent masses, waving to and fro in the air. The 
European Ivy {Hedera Helix) is certainly one of the 
finest, if not the very finest climbing plant (or more 
properly, creeping vine, for by means of its little fibres or 
rootlets on the stems, it will attach itself to trees, walks, 
or any other substance), with which we are acquainted. 
It possesses not only very fine dark green palmated foliage 
in great abundance, but the foliage has that agreeable 
property of being evergreen, — which, while it enhances 
its value tenfold, is at the same time so rave among vines. 
The yellow flowers of the Ivy are great favorites with 
bees, from their honied sweetness ; they open in autumn, 
and the berries ripen in the spring. When planted at the 
root of a tree, it will often, if the head is not too thickly 
clad with branches, ascend to the very topmost limbs ; 
and its dark green foliage, wreathing itself about the old 
and furrowed trunk, and hanging in careless drapery from 
the lower branches, adds greatly to the elegance of even 
the most admirable tree. Spenser describes the appear- 
ance of the Ivy growing to the tops of the trees, 

" Emongst the rest, the clamb'ring Ivie grew, 
Knitting his wanton arms with grasping hold. 
Lest that the pophir happcly should renew 
Her brother's strokes, whose boughs she doth enfold 
With her lythc twigs, till they the top survew. 
And paint with pallid green her buds of gold." 



314 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

The fine contrasts between the dark coloring of the 
leaves of the Ivy, and the vernal and autumnal tints of 
the foliage of deciduous trees, are also highly pleasing. 
Indeed this fine climbing plant may be turned to advantage 
in another way ; in reclothing dead trees with verdure. 
Sir T, D. Lauder says, that " trees often die from causes 
which we cannot divine, and there is no one who is 
master of extensive woods, who does not meet with many 
such instances of unexpected and unaccountable mortality. 
Of such dead individuals we have often availed ourselves, 
and by planting Ivy at their roots, we have converted 
them into more beautiful objects than they were when 
arrayed in their own natural foliage." 

The Ivy is not only ornamental upon trees, but it is 
also remarkably well adapted to ornament cottages, and 
even large mansions, when allowed to grow upon the 
walls, to which it will attach itself so firmly by the little 
rootlets sent out from the branches, that it is almost 
impossible to tear it off'. On wooden buildings, it may 
perhaps be injurious, by causing them to decay ; but on 
stone buildings, it fastens itself firmly, and holds both 
stone and mortar together like a coat of cement. The 
thick garniture of foliage with which it covers the surface, 
excludes stormy weather, and has, therefoi'e, a tendency 
to preserve the walls, rather than accelerate their decay. 
This vine is the inseparable accompaniment of the old 
feudal castles and crumbling towers of Europe, and 
borrows a great additional interest from the romance 
and historical recollections connected with such spots. 
Indeed half the interest, picturesque as well as poetical, 
of those time-worn buildings, is conferred by this plant, 
which seeks to bind together and adorn with something 



VINES AND CLIMBING PLANTS. 315 

of their former richness, the crumbling fragments that are 
fast tottering to decay : — 

" The Ivy, that staunchest and firmest friend, 
' That hastens its succoring arm to lend 

To the ruined fane where in youth it sprung. 

And its pliant tendrils ih sport were flung. 

When the sinking buttress and mouldering tower 

Seem only the spectres of former power, 

Then the Ivy clustcre round the wall. 

And for tapestry hangs in the moss-grown hall. 

Striving in beauty and youth to dress 

The desolate place in its loneliness." 

R0M.\NCE OF NATtniE. 

The Ivy lives to a great age, if we may judge from the 
specimens that overrun some of the oldest edifices of 
Europe, which are said to have been covered with it for 
centuries, and where the main stems are seen nearly as 
large as the trunk of a middle sized tree. 

" Whole ages have fled, and their works decayed. 
And nations have scattered been ; 
But the stout old Ivy shall never fade 
From its hale and hearty green ; 
The brave old plant in its lonely days. 
Shall fatten upon the past ; 
For the stateliest building man can raise. 
Is the Ivy's food at last." 

The Ivy is not a native of America ; nor is it by any 
means a very common plant in our gardens, though we 
know of no apology for the apparent neglect of so beautiful 
a climber. It is hardy south of the latitude of 42°, and we 
have seen it thriving in great luxuriance as far north as 
Hyde Park, on the Hudson, eighty miles above New York. 
One of the most beautiful growths of this plant, which has 



316 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

ever met our eyes, is that upon the old mansion in the 
Botanic Garden at Philadelphia, built by the elder Bartram. 
That picturesque and quaint stone building is beautifully 
overrun by the most superb mantle of Ivy, that no one who 
has once seen can fail to remember with admiration. The 
dark grey of the stone- work is finely opposed by the rich 
verdure of the plant, which falls away in openings here and 
there, around the windows, and elsewhere. It never thrives 
well if suffered to ramble along the ground, but needs the 
support of a tree, a frame, or a wall, to which it attaches 
itself firmly, and grows with vigorous shoots. Bare walls 
or fences may thus be clothed with verdure and beauty 
equal to the living hedge, in a very short period of time, by 
planting young Ivy roots at the base. 

The most desirable varieties of the common Ivy are : the 
Irish Ivy, with much larger foliage than the common sort, 
and more rapid in its growth ; the Silver-striped and the 
Gold-striped leaved Ivy, both of which, though less vigorous, 
are much admired for the singular color of their leaves. 
The common English Ivy is more hardy than the others 
in our climate. 

Although, as we have said, the Ivy is not a native of this 
country, yet we have an indigenous vine, which, at least 
in summer, is not inferior to it. We refer to the Virginia 
Creeper (Ampelopsis hederacea), which is often called the 
American Ivy. The leaves are as large as the hand, 
deeply divided into five lobes, and the blossoms are suc- 
ceeded by handsome, dark blue berries. The Virginia 
Creeper is a most luxuriant grower, and we have seen it 
chmbing to the extremities of trees 70 or 80 feet in height. 
Like the Ivy it attaches itself to whatever it can lay hold 
of, by the little rootlets which spring out of the branches ; 



VINES AND CLIMBING PLANTS. 317 

and its foliage, when it clotiies thickly a high wall, or folds 
itself in clustering wreaths around the trunk and branches 
of an open tree, is extremely handsome and showy. Al- 
though the leaves are not evergreen, like those of the Ivy, 
yet in autumn they far surpass those of that plant in the 
rich and gorgeous coloring which they then assume. 
Numberless trees may be seen in the country by the road- 
side, and in the woods, thus decked in autumn in the 
borrowed glories of the Virginia Creeper ; but we particu- 
larly remember two as being remarkably striking objects ; 
one, a wide-spread elm — the trunk and graceful diverging 
branches completely clad in scarlet by this beautiful vine, 
with which its own leaves harmonized well in their fine 
deep yellow dress ; the other, a tall and dense Cedar, through 
whose dark green boughs gleamed the rich coloring of the 
Virginia Creeper, like a half-concealed, though glowing 
fire. 

In the American forests nothing adds more to the beauty 
of an occasional tree, than the tall canopy of verdure with 
which it is often crowned by the wild Grape vine. There 
its tall stems wind themselves about until they reach the 
very summit of the tree, where they cluster it over, and 
bask their broad bright green foliage in the sunbeams. As 
if not content with this, they often completely overhang the 
head of the tree, falling like ample drapery around on every 
side, until they sweep the ground. We have seen very 
beautiful effects produced in this way by the grape in its 
wild state, and it may easily be imitated. The delicious 
fragrance of these wild grape vines when in blossom, is 
unsurpassed in delicacy ; and we can compare it to nothing 
but the delightful perfume which exhales from a huge bed 
of Mignonette in full bloom. The Bittersweet (Celastrus 



318 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

scandens) is another well known climber, which ornaments 
our wild trees. Its foliage is very bright and shining, and 
the orange-colored seed-vessels which burst open, and dis- 
play the crimson seeds in winter, are quite ornamental. It 
winds itself very closely around the stem, however, and we 
have known it to strangle or compress the bodies of young 
trees so tightly as to put an end to their growth. 

The Trumpet Creeper {Bignonia radicans) is a very 
picturesque climbing plant. The stem is quite woody, and 
often attains considerable size ; the branches, like those of 
the Ivy and Virginia Creeper, fasten themselves by the 
roots thrown out. The leaves are pinnated, and the 
flowers, which are borne in terminal clusters on the ends 
of the young shoots about midsummer, are exceedingly 
showy. They are tubes five or six inches long, shaped like 
a trumpet, opening at the extremity, of a fine scarlet color 
on the outside, and orange within. The Trumpet Creeper 
is a native of Virginia, Carolina, and the states further 
south, where it climbs up the loftiest trees. It is a great 
favorite in the northern states as a climbing plant, and very 
beautiful effects are sometimes produced by planting it at 
the foot of a tall-stemmed tree, which it will completely 
surround with a pillar of verdure, and render very orna- 
mental by its little shoots, studded with noble blossoms. 

One of the most singular and picturesque climbing shrubs 
or plants which we cultivate, is the Pipe-vine, or Birthwort 
{Aristolochia sipho). It is a native of the Alleghany moun- 
tains, and is one of the tallest of twining plants, growing 
on the trees there to the height of 90 or 100 feet, though 
in gardens it is often kept down to a frame of four or five 
feet high. The leaves are of a noble size, being eight or 
nine inches broad, and heart-shaped in outline. The 



VINES AND CLIMBING PLANTS. 319 

flowers, about an inch or a little more in length, are very 
singular. They are dark yellow, spotted with brown, in 
shape like a bent siphon-like tube, which opens at the ex- 
tremity, the whole flower resembling, as close as possible, 
a very small Dutchman s pipe, whence the vine is frequently 
so called by the country people. It flowers in the begin- 
ning of summer, and the foliage, during the whole growing 
season, has a very rich and luxuriant appearance. Aristo- 
lochia tonientosa is a smaller species, with leaves and 
flowers of less size, the former downy or hairy on the under 
surface. 

The various kinds of Clematis, though generally kept 
within the precincts of the garden, are capable of adding 
to the interest of the pleasure ground, when they are 
planted so as to support themselves on the branches of 
trees. The common White Clematis or Virgin's Bower 
(C virginica) is one of the strongest growing kinds, often 
embellishing with its pale white blossoms, the whole 
interior and even the very tops of our forest trees in 
the middle states. After these have fallen, they are 
succeeded by large tufts of brown, hairy-like plumes, 
appendages to the clusters of seeds, which give the whole 
a very unique and interesting look. The Wild Atragene, 
with large purple flowers, which blossom early, has much 
the same habit as the Clematis, to which, indeed, it is nearly 
related. x\mong the finest foreign species of this genus 
are, the Single and Double-flowered purple Clematis 
(C viticella and its varieties), which, though slender in their 
stems, run to considerable height, are very pretty, and 
blossom profusely. The sweet scented and the Japan 
Clematis (C. fiammula and C. jlorida), the former 
very fragrant, and the latter beautiful, are perhaps too 



320 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

tender, except for the garden, where they are highly 
prized. 

The Glycine or Wistaria (Wistaria pubescens) is a 
very beautiful climbing plant, and adds much to the 
gracefulness of trees, when trained so as to hang from 
their lower branches. The leaves are pinnate, and the 
light purple flowers, which bloom in loose clusters like 
those of the Locust, are universally admired. The 
Chinese Wistaria (W. sinensis) is a very elegant species 
of this plant, which appears to be quite hardy here ; and 
when loaded with its numerous large clusters of pendent 
blossoms, is highly ornamental. It grows rapidly, and, 
with but little care, will mount to a great height. These 
vines with pinnated foliage, would be remarkably 
appropriate when climbing up, and hanging from the 
branches of such light airy trees as the Three-thorned 
Acacia, the Locust, etc. 

We must not forget to enumerate here the charming 
family of the Honeysuckles ; some of them are natives of 
the old world, some of our own continent ; and all of them 
are common in our gardens, where they are universally 
prized for their beauty and fragrance. In their native 
localities they grow upon trees, and trail along the rocks. 
The species which ascends to the greatest height, is the 
common European Woodbine,* which twines around the 
stems, and hangs from the ends of the longest branches of 
trees : 

" As Woodbine weds the plant within her reach, 
Rough Elm, or smooth-grained Ash, or glossy Beech, 
In spiral rings ascends the trunk, and lays 
Her golden tassels on the leafy sprays." 

COWFEK. 

* Woodbind is the original name, derived from the habit of the plant of 
winding itself around trees, and binding the branches together. 



VINES AND CLIMBING PLANTS. 321 

The Woodbine (Lonicera periclymenum) has separate, 
opposite leaves, and buff-colored or paler yellow and red 
blossoms. There is a variety, the common monthly 
Woodbine, which produces its flowers all summer, and is 
much the most valuable plant. Another {L. p. bclgicum), 
the Dutch Honeysuckle, blossoms quite early in spring; 
and a third (L. p. quercifolium) has leaves shaped like 
those of the oak tree. 

The finest of our native sorts are the Red and Yellow 
trumpet Honeysuckle {L. sempei-virens and L. Jlava), 
which have the terminal leaves on each branch joined 
together at the base, or perfoliate, making a single leaf. 
They blossom in the greatest profusion during the whole 
summer and autumn, and their rich blossom tubes, sprinkled 
in numerous clusters over the exterior of the foliage, as 
well as an abundance of scarlet berries in autumn, entitle 
them to high regard. There is also a very strong and 
vigorous species, called the Orange pubescent Honeysuckle 
(L. pubescens), with large, hairy, ciliate leaves, and fine 
large tawny or orange-colored flowers. It is a very 
luxuriant plant in its habit, and a very distinct species to 
the eye. All these native sorts have but very slight 
fragrance. 

The Chinese twining Honeysuckle (L. Jlexuosa) is 
certainly one of the finest of the genus. In the form of 
the leaf it much resembles the common Woodbine ; but 
the foliage is much darker colored, and is also sub-ever- 
green, hanging on half the winter, and in sheltered spots, 
even till spring. It blossoms when the plant is old, several 
times during the summer, bearing an abundance of 
beautiful flowers, open at the mouth, red outside, and 

striped with red, white, or yellow within. It grows 

21' 



322 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

remarkably fast, climbing to the very summit of trees in a 
short time ; and the flowers, which first appear in June, 
are deliciously fragrant. In all its varieties the Honey- 
suckle is a charming plant, either to adorn the porch of the 
cottage, the latticed bower of the garden — to both of which 
spots they are especially dedicated — or to climb the stem 
of the old forest tree, where — 

" With clasping tendrils it invests the branch, 
Else unadom'd, with many agay festoon, 
And fragrant chaplet ; recompensing well 
The strength it borrows with the grace it lends." 

There it diffuses through the air a delicious breath, that 
renders a walk beneath the shade of the tall trees doubly 
delightful, while its flowers give a gaiety and brightness 
to the park, which forest trees, producing usually but 
inconspicuous blossoms, could not alone impart. 

Some of the climbing Roses are very lovely objects in 
the pleasure-grounds. Many of them, at the north, as the 
Multifloras, Noisettes, etc., require some covering in the 
winter, and are therefore better fitted for the garden. At 
the south, where they are quite hardy, they are, however, 
most luxuriant and splendid objects. But there are two 
classes of Roses that are perfectly hardy climbers, and 
may therefore be employed with great advantage by the 
Landscape Gardener — the Michigan and the Boursalt trees. 
The single Michigan is- a most compact and vigorous 
grower, and often, in its wild haunts in the west, clambers 
over the tops of tall forest trees, and decks them with its 
abundant clusters of pale purple flowers. There are now 
in our gardens several beautiful double varieties of this, 
and among them, one, called Beauty of the Prairies, is 



VINES AND CLIMBING PLANTS. 323 

most admired for its large rich buds and blossoms of a deep 
rose color. 

The Boursalt roses are remarkable for their profusion of 
flowers, and for their shining, reddish stems, with few 
thorns. The common Purple or Crimson Boursalt is quite 
a wonder of beauty in the latter part of May, when trained 
on the wall of a cottage, being then literally covered with 
blossoms ; and it is so hardy that scarcely a branch is ever 
injured by the cold of winter. The Blush and the Elegans 
are still richer and finer varieties of this class of roses, all 
of which are well worthy of attention. 

We have to regret that the inclemency of our winters 
will not permit us to cultivate the White European 
Jasmine (Jasminum officinale) out of the garden, as even 
there it requires a slight protection in winter. Below the 
latitude of Philadelphia, however, it will probably succeed 
well. In the southern states they have a most lovely plant, 
the Carolina Jasmine (Gelseminum), which hangs its 
beautiful yellow flowers on the very tree tops, and the 
woods there in spring are redolent with their perfume. 

The connoisseur in vines will not forget the curious 
Periploca, which grows very rapidly to the height of 40 
or 50 feet, and bears numerous branches of very curious 
brown or purple flowers in summer; or the Double- 
blossoming Brambles, both pink and white, which often 
make shoots of 20 or 30 feet long in a season, and bear 
pretty clusters of double flowers in June. All these fine 
climbers, and several others to be found in the catalogues, 
may, in the hands of a person of taste, be made to 
contribute in a wonderful degree to the variety, elegance, 
and beauty of a country residence ; and to neglect to 
introduce them would be to refuse the aid of some of the 



324 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

most beautiful accessories that are capable of being com- 
bined with trees, as well as with buildings, gardens, and 
fences. 

Some persons object to the growth of climbing plants 
upon trees, that, by compressing the stems and tightening 
themselves around the limbs of trees, they gradually check 
their growth, and finally by preventing the expansion of 
the trunk, put an end to the life of the tree. This, we 
have no doubt, has been the case when young trees in the 
full vigor of growth have been completely encompassed 
and wound about with the strong growing woody creepers ; 
but it so rarely happens (scarcely ever in the case of 
middle-sized trees, on which vines are more generally 
planted), that we consider the objection of no moment. 
Indeed, were all this true, the management of the growth 
of any vine, however luxuriant, is so completely within the 
power of the cultivator, that by a very trifling annual 
attention, he can entirely prevent the possibility of any 
such injurious effects. 

The reader must not imagine, from the remarks which 
we have here made on the beauty and charms of climbing 
plants, that we would desire to see every tree in an 
extensive park wreathed about, and overhung with fantastic 
vines and creepers. Such is by no means our intention. 
We should consider such a proceeding something in the 
worst possible taste. There are some trees whose rugged 
and ungraceful forms would refuse all such accompani- 
ment ; and others from whose dignity and majesty it would 
be improper to detract even by adding the gracefulness of the 
loveliest vine. Such, too, is never the case in nature, as 
for one tree decked in this manner we see a hundred which 
are not, and the very rarity of the example imparts 



VINE3 AND CLIMBING PLANTS. 326 

additional beauty and interest to it when it appears. This 
should be the case in all artificial plantations ; and he who 
has a true and lively feeling for the beautiful and pictur- 
esque, will easily understand at a glance where these 
expressions will be strengthened or weakened by the 
addition of more grace and elegance. A few scattered 
trees here and there, with whose forms the plans adopted 
harmonize, draped and festooned with the most appropriate 
climbing plants, will be all that can be properly introduced 
in any scene, unless it be of a very artificial character ; 
but even these additional accessories, simple as they may 
seem, often produce an effect singularly beautiful, which 
shows how much in real landscape, as well as in painting, 
depends upon a few finishing touches to the scene. 

Although we are not now writing of buildings, it is not 
inappropriate here to remark how much may be done in 
the country, and indeed even in town, by using vines and 
creepers to decorate buildings. The cottage in this country 
too rarely conveys the idea of comfort and happiness which 
we wish to attach to such a habitation, and chiefly because 
so often it stands bleak, solitary, and exposed to every ray 
of our summer sun, with a scanty robe of foliage to shelter 
it. How different such edifices, however humble, become 
when the porch is overhung with climbing plants, — when 
the blushing rose-buds peep in at the window sill, or the 
ripe purple clusters of the grape hang down about the 
eaves, those who have seen the better cottages of England 
well know. Very little care and trifling expense will 
procure all the additional beauty ; and it is truly wonderful 
how much so little once done, adds to the happiness of the 
inmates. Every man feels prouder of his home when it is 
a pleasant spot for the eye to rest upon, than when it is 



326 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

situated in a desert, or overgrown with weeds. Besides 
this, tasteful embellishment has a tendency to refine the 
feelings of every member of the family ; and every leisure 
hour spent in rendering more lovely and agreeable even 
the humblest cottage, is infinitely better employed than in 
lounging about in idle and useless dissipation. 



TREATMENT OF GROUND. FORMATION OF WALKS. 327 



SECTION VII. 

TREATMENT OF GROUND. FORMATION OF WALKS. 

Nature of operations on Ground. Treatment of flowing and irregular surfaces to 
heighten their expression ; flats, or level surfaces. Roclts, as materials in Landscape. 
Laying out Roads and Walks: Directions for the Approach: Rules by Repton. The 
Drive, and minor walks. The introduction of fences and verdant hedges. 

" Strength may wield the ponderous spade. 



May turn the clod and wheel the compost home ; 
But elegance, chief grace the garden shows, 
And most attractive, is the fair result 
Of thought, the creature of a polished mind." 

COWPER. 



^^ 




ROUND is undoubtedly the most un- 
wieldy and ponderous material that comes 
under the care of the Landscape Gardener. 
It is not only difficult to remove, the 
operations of the leveller rarely extending below two or 
three feet of the surface ; but the effect produced by a 
given quantity of labor expended upon it, is generally 
much less than when the same has been bestowed in 
the formation of plantations, or the erection of buildings. 
The achievements of art upon ground appear so trifling, 
too, when we behold the apparent facility with which 
nature has arranged it in such a variety of forms, that 
the former sink into insignificance when compared with 
the latter. 

For these reasons, the operations to be performed 



328 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

upon ground in this country, will generally be limited 
to the neighborhood of the house, or the scenery directly 
under the eye. Here, by judicious levelling and smooth- 
ing in some cases, or by raising gentle eminences with 
interposing hollows in others, much may be done at a 
moderate expense, to improve the beauty of the surround- 
ing landscape. 

It is, however, fortunately the case, that in the modern 
style of landscape improvement, extensive and costly 
operations upon ground are very seldom needed. By 
the aid of plantations arranged as we have already 
suggested, much may be done to soften too great 
inequality of surface, as well as to heighten the apparent 
magnitude of gentle undulations. The art of the 
improver, when employed upon this material, will, 
therefore, be directed to the production of negative, 
rather than positive effects, — to the removal of existing 
faults or blemishes, rather than to the creation of an 
entirely new and artificial surface. 

To pursue this method with success, it is necessary 
that he should refer constantly to the principle which 
we suggested in the commencement of our remarks : the 
preservation of the natural character of the scene, or, we 
may here add, the heightening of the character intended 
for the form of the surface. We have already remarked 
that scenes abounding in natural beauty were chiefly 
characterized by gentle undulations of surface, and smooth 
easy transitions from the level plain to the softly swelling 
hill or flowing hollow ; and that, on the contrary, highly 
picturesque scenes exhibited a more irregular and broken 
surface, abounding with abrupt transitions, and more 
strongly marked elevations and depressions. 



TREATMENT OF GROUND. FORMATION OF WALKS. 329 

In a scene expressive of simple or graceful beauty, 
where the surface is more or less undulating, the first 
proceeding of the improver will be to remove any 
accidental or natural deformity which may interfere with 
that expression. Such are unsightly ridges of earth, small 
lumpish hills, the ragged elevations where old fences have 
been removed, or deep furrows created by the former 
action of the plough. If there are any uncouth pits or 
ugly hollows, such must be either filled up, or concealed 
by plantations, and all excrescences that interfere with the 
prevailing expression of the whole should be removed. 

In the next place, the improver will examine the 
formation of the ground, as it appears naturally. If too 
rugged, — the sweeps and undulations sometimes easy and 
beautiful, but at others hard and disconnected, — he will 
endeavor to soften and remove this inequality. This will 
be easily executed if some of the eminences are broken 
into too high, sudden, and abrupt hills, by carefully lower- 
ing them into more graceful elevations, and placing the 
superfluous earth in the adjacent hollows : proper regard 
being paid to portions of the scene already pleasing, by pro- 
ducing such a surface as will connect itself naturally with the 
same, when the improvements shall be entirely completed. 

Should the surface, on the contrary, be somewhat 
broken or undulating, but not distinctly so, appearing 
rather heavy and undecided between a level and finely 
varied ground, the operations must be directed in such a 
manner as to increase the boldness of the whole. The 
ground of a country residence is often brought into such 
a state by the continued action of the plough at some 
former period, which has gradually levelled down the 
gentle eminences and filled up the hollows, till in some 



330 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

places it appears scarcely struggling out of a level. The 
course is then obvious ; the superfluous earth which chokes 
up the valleys, must be removed again to the neighboring 
hills, where it belongs, when the natural beauty of the 
ground will be restored. This is effected with compara- 
tive facility, as every foot of surface taken from, the 
depression, adds by removal two feet to the height of the 
adjoining elevation. 

The improvement of picturesque surfaces must proceed 
in a similar manner. When a surface is naturally and 
truly picturesque, art will add little or nothing to its effect. 
It will rather therefore endeavor to produce a perfect 
whole, and a connexion between the various parts, than 
to disturb the existing features. In the vicinity of the 
house, the artist will soften down that boldness and 
inequality which, if too great, might interfere both with 
convenience and the beauty of utility, which must there be 
constantly kept in view. Otherwise, the beauty of 
picturesque surfaces may be often heightened by various 
means within our reach ; such as increasing the abruptness 
of surface by taking away a few feet of earth, or by adding 
other picturesque irregularities, which by connexion may 
strengthen the expression of the whole. 

Mr. Price has remarked, that " the ugliest ground is 
that which has neither the beauty of smoothness, verdure, 
and gentle undulation, nor the picturesqueness of bold and 
sudden breaks, and varied tints of soil : of such kind, is 
ground that has been disturbed and left in that unfinished 
state : as in a rough ploughed field run to sward."* Such 
ground it i6 often difficult to restore to a picturesque state, 
even when that was its previous expression. But it is not 

* Essay on the Picturesque, i. 193. 



TEEATMEXT OF GROUND. FORMATION OF WALKS. 331 

impossible to do so, for it must be remembered that it is not 
by forming the surface alone that nature renders it 
picturesque, but also by the accessories and accompa- 
nbnents which she liberally bestows upon the surface when 
once formed. These are, vegetation, trees, rocks, etc., 
which, with the influence of time, will often render many 
a scene, that, stripped of its enriching drapery, would be 
positively harsh and ugly, extremely picturesque, or 
strikingly beautiful. Proofs of this will occur to every one 
who will contrast in his mind the appearance of a steep 
clayey river bank, or even pit, when bare, raw, and 
verdureless, and the same objects when nature or art has 
clothed them with a luxuriant and diversified garniture of 
trees, shrubs, and plants. In the former case, all was 
positively ugly and displeasing to the eye of taste ; in the 
latter, all is picturesque and harmonious. 

A perfect fiat, or level surface, is often the most difficult 
to improve of any description of ground. In some cases, 
as in the example of a very large park, with an immense 
building, a level surface may be in excellent keeping, giving 
an air of grandeur to the whole scene : for both the 
simplicity and the wide extent of a level plain in such a 
situation, would be highly expressive of grandeur when 
united to a fine pile of building. But ordinarily, a flat 
surface is extremely dull and uninteresting. One unbroken 
plain of green is spread before the eye, varied by none of 
those changing lights and shadows that belong to a finely 
undulating lawn. It is true that this affects the mind 
differently in certain situations, as a broad plain is a 
delightful contrast and source of repose in a mountainous 
country. But we here speak of the greater part of the 
surface of the United States, where countrv seats are 



332 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

located, and where it will be found that a diversified 
surface is greatly to be preferred to a dead level. 

Where such a level exists, in some situations, it is almost 
impossible to improve it much. When, for illustration, the 
whole surrounding country is equally tame and flat, the 
creation by artificial means, of undulations, hills, or hollows 
in a park, would be in such evident contradiction to the 
natural formation, that the eye would at once detect it as 
a deception, harmonizing badly with general nature. The 
best that can be done in such cases, is, perhaps, to produce 
the greatest possible beauty by plantations and buildings, 
and not to attempt any alterations of surface, which would 
be insignificant and absurd. 

When, however, this is not the case, but the grounds 
themselves, though nearly level, are surrounded by more 
bold and spirited variations of surface, a great deal may be 
effected. In those portions of the grounds nearest the sur- 
rounding inequalities, the latter may be apparently carried 
into the former, and the artificial sweeps, breaks, or undu- 
lations in the park may be so connected with each other, 
and with the neighboring irregularities, as to produce the 
effect of accordant art joined to the charm of natural 
expression. 

The error into which inexperienced improvers are con- 
stantly liable to fall, is a want of breadth and extent in their 
designs ; which latter, when executed, are so feeble as to 
be full of littleness, out of keeping with the magnitude of 
the surrounding scene. Their designs, like the sketches 
of a novice in drawing, are cramped and meagre. This is 
exemplified in ground by their producing, instead of easy 
undulations, nothing but a succession of short sweeps and 
hillocks like waves in the ocean. Now the mor.t beautiful 



TREATMENT OF GROUND. FORMATION OF WALKS. 333 

variation in ground is undoubtedly that of gradually vary- 
ing lines and insensible transitions of surface, and these 
should correspond in magnitude and breadth to the size and 
style of the place. Such surfaces are full of the flowing 
lines and rounded smoothness which Burke considers 
.characteristic of beauty, or the long undulations exhibit 
the outlines of Hogarth's favorite line of grace. 

In places of large extent there may be scenes in different 
portions of the park of totally different character ; one sim- 
ply beautiful, abounding with graceful and flowing lines, 
and another highly picturesque, and full of spirited breaks 
and variations. Such often form veiy pleasing and striking 
contrasts to each other, and should therefore, by all means, 
be preserved : but they should also be rendered distinct by 
their own surrounding plantations, else much of their effect 
as a whole, when separately considered, will be lost upon 
the spectator. For it should be remembered the mind is 
incapable of appreciating or doing justice to two distinct 
and dissimilar expressions at the same time. Whatever be 
the scene to be improved, therefore, it should be taken by 
itself and considered as a whole, if the eye command that 
scene alone. Then the improver can proceed on the prin- 
ciple that every piece of ground is distinguished by certain 
properties : it is either tame or bold, graceful or rude, con- 
tinued or broken ; and if any variety inconsistent with these 
expressions be obtruded, it has no other effect than to 
weaken one idea without raising another. " The insipidity 
of a flat is not taken away by a few scattered hillocks ; a 
continuation of uneven ground can alone give the idea of 
irregularity. A large,, deep, abrupt break, among easy 
swells and falls, seems at best but a piece left unfinished, 
and which ought to have been softened ; it is not more 



334 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

natural because it is more rude. On the other hand, a fine 
small polished form, in the midst of rough, mis-shapen 
ground, though more elegant than all about it, is generally 
no better than a patch, itself disgraced and disfiguring the 
scene. A thousand instances might be added to show that 
the prevailing idea ought to pervade every part, so far at 
least indispensably, as to exclude whatever distracts it, 
and as much further as possible to accommodate the 
character of the ground to that of the scene to which it 
belongs."* 

Rocks, either in detached fragments or large masses, 
enter into the composition of many scenes, and sometimes 
have an excellent effect. Indeed much of the spirit of 
picturesque scenery is often owing to the bold projections 
made by rocks in various forms. An overhanging cliflT, or 
steep precipice, a moss-covered rocky bank, or even a group 
of 7'ocks on a ledge, from which springs a tuft of trees and 
shrubs — all these give strength to a picturesque scene. 
Their effect may often be rendered more striking by art ; 
sometimes by removing the earth or loose stones from the 
bottom of the precipice, so as greatly to increase its apparent 
height — for the perpendicular position is the finest in which 
rocks can be viewed. At other times the effect of a con- 
tinuous range of rocks may be much improved by planting 
the summit, and making occasional breaks of verdure in 
the front surface. 

Rocks which are too apparent, and which cannot be 



* Mr. Whately has given such minute and excellent details in relation to 
this subject, in his Observations on Modern Gardening, that we gladly refer 
the reader who desires to pursue this subject further, to that work: which 
indeed is so unexceptionable in style and good taste, that Alison has frequently 
quoted it in illustration of his admirable Essay on Taste. 



TREATMENT OF GROUND. FORMATION OF WALKS. 335 

removed, may be concealed with trees and vegetation, or 
partially covered with vines and creepers. The latter often 
have a beautiful effect in picturesque scenery, and we have 
seen very charming pictures formed of over-arching cliffs 
and groups of rock, upon which hung and rambled in 
luxuriant profusion, a rich mixture of climbing plants. 
Where rocks thus accidentally occur in beautiful scenes, 
to which they, if left bare, would be inimical, they may be 
wonderfully softened and brought into keeping by a cover- 
ing of the honeysuckle, the Ivy, the Virginia creeper, and 
other species of the gayest and most luxuriant flowering 
vines. 

Loose and detached fragments of rocks can never be 
permitted to lie scattered about the lawn in any style. In 
a scene expressive of graceful beauty, of course they would 
be entirely out of place : and in a picturesque scene, they 
should only be suffered to remain in spots where they have 
some evident connexion with larger masses. If they were 
allowed to lie loosely around, they would only give an air 
of confused wildness, opposed to everything like the ele- 
gance of tasteful art or the comfort of a country residence ; 
but if only seen in particular snots where they evidently 
belong, they will, by contrast, give force and spirit to the 
whole. We do not now speak of large rounded boulders 
or smooth stones, such as are seen lying about the soil in 
some of our valley tracts, as such are void of interest, and, 
unless they are large, or in some degree remarkable, they 
ought to be at once removed out of the way. Character- 
istic and picturesque rocks, are those with firm, rugged, and 
distinct outlines, externally covered with a coating of 
weather stains, dark lichens, or mosses, and which meet 
the eye with a mellow and softened tone of color. 



336 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

Roads and walks are so directly connected with opera- 
tions on the surface of the ground, and with the disposition 
of plantations, which we have already made familiar to the 
reader, that we shall introduce in this place a few remarks 
relative to their direction and formation. A French writer 
has i-emarked of them that they are "Zes ruhans qui attachent 
le bouquet," and they certainly serve as the connecting 
medium between the different parts of the estate, as well as 
the means of displaying its various beauties, peculiarities, 
and finest points of prospect. 

The Approach is by far the most important of these 
routes. It is the private road, leading from the public 
highway, directly to the house itself. It should therefore 
bear a proportionate breadth and size, and exhibit marks 
of good keeping, in accordance with the dignity of the 
mansion. 

In the ancient style of gardening, the Approach was so 
formed as to enter directly in front of the house, affording 
a full view of that portion of the edifice, and no other. A 
line drawn as directly as possible, and evenly bordered on 
each side with a tall avenue of trees, was the whole 
expenditure of art necessary in its formation. It is true, 
the simplicity of design was often more than counter- 
balanced by the difficulty of levelling, grading, and altering 
the surface, necessary to please the geometric eye ; but the 
rules were as plain and unchangeable, as the lines were 
parallel and undeviating. 

In the present more advanced state of Landscape 
Gardening, the formation of the Approach has become 
equally a matter of artistical skill with other details of the 
art. The house is generally so approached, that the eye 
shall first meet it in an angular direction, displaying not 



TREATMENT OF GROUND. FORMATION OF WALKS. 337 

only the beauty of the architectural facade but also one 
of the end elevations, thus giving a more complete idea of 
the size, character, or elegance of the building : and 
instead of leading in a direct line from the gate to the 
house, it curves in easy lines through certain portions of 
the park or lawn, until it reaches that object. 

If the point where the Approach is to start from the 
highway be not already determined past alteration, it 
should be so chosen as to afford a sufficient drive through 
the grounds before arriving at the house, to give the 
stranger some idea of the extent of the whole property : to 
allow an agreeable diversity of surface over which to lead 
it : and lastly in such a manner as not to interfere with the 
convenience of ready access to and from the mansion. 

This point being decided, and the other being the man- 
sion and adjacent buildings, it remains to lay out the road 
in such gradual curves as will appear easy and graceful, 
without verging into rapid turns or formal stiffness. Since 
the modern style has become partially known and adopted 
here, some persons appear to have supposed that nature 
" has a horror of straight lines," and consequently, 
believing that they could not possibly err, they immediately 
ran into the other extreme, filling their grounds with zig- 
zag and regularly serpentine roads, still more horrible : 
which can only be compared to the contortions of a 
wounded snake dragging its way slowly over the earth. 

There are two guiding principles which have been laid 

down for the formation of Approach roads. The first, that 

the curves should never be so great, or lead over surfaces 

so unequal, as to make it disagreeable to drive upon them ; 

and the second, that the road should never curve without 

some reason, either real or apparent. 

22 



338 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

The most natural method of forming a winding Approach 
where the ground is gently undulating, is to follow, in some 
degree, the depressions of surface, and to curve round the 
eminences. This is an excellent method, so long as it does 
not lead us in too circuitous a direction, nor, as we before 
hinted, make the road itself too uneven. When either of 
these happens, the easy, gradual flow of the curve in the 
proper direction, must be. maintained by levelling or 
grading, to produce the proper surface. 

Nothing can be more unmeaning than to see an Ap- 
proach, or any description of road, winding hither and 
thither, through an extensive level lawn, towards the 
house, without the least apparent reason for the curves. 
Happily, we are not, therefore, obliged to return to the 
straight line ; but gradual curves may always be so ar- 
ranged as to appear necessarily to wind round the groups of 
trees, which otherwise would stand in the way. Wherever 
a bend in the road is intended, a cluster or group of 
greater or less size and breadth, proportionate to the 
curve, should be placed in the projection formed. These 
trees, as soon as they attain some size, if they are properly 
arranged, we may suppose to have originally stood there, 
and the road naturally to have curved, to avoid destroying 
them. 

This arrangement of trees bordering an extended 
Approach road, in connexion with the various other 
groups, masses, and single trees, in the adjacent lawn, W\\\ 
in most cases have the effect of concealing the house from 
the spectator approaching it, except, perhaps, from one or 
two points. It has, therefore, been considered a anatter 
worthy of consideration, at what point or points the first 



TREATMENT OF GROUND. FORMATION OF WALKS. 339 

view of the house shall be obtained. If seen at too great 
a distance, as in the case of a large estate, it may appear 
more diminutive and of less magnitude than it should ; or, 
if first viewed at some other position, it may strike the 
eye of a stranger, at that point, unfavorably. The best, 
and indeed the only way to decide the matter, is to go 
over the whole ground covered by the Approach route 
carefully, and select a spot or spots sufficiently near to 
give the most favorable and striking view of the house 
itself. This, if openings are to be made, can only be done 
in winter ; but when the ground is to be newly planted, it 
may be prosecuted at any season. 

The late Mr. Repton, who was one of the most cele- 
brated English practical landscape gardeners, has laid 
down in one of his works, the following rules on the 
subject, which we quote, not as applying in all cases, but 
to show what are generally thought the principal requisites 
of this road in the modern style. 

First. It ought to be a road to the house, and to that 
principally. 

Secondly. If it be not naturally the nearest road 
possible, it ought artificially to be made to appear so. 

Thirdly. The artificial obstacles which make this road 
the nearest, ought to appear natural. 

Fourthly. Where an approach quits the high road, it 
ought not to break from it at right angles, or in such a 
manner as to rob the entrance of .importance, but rather 
at some bend of the public road, from which a lodge or 
gate may be more conspicuous ; and where the high road 
may appear to branch from the approach, rather than the 
approach from the high road. 



340 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

Fifthly. After the approach enters the park, it should 
avoid skirting along its boundary, which betrays the want 
of extent or unity of property. 

Sixthly. The house, unless very large and magnificent, 
should not be seen at so great a distance as to make it 
appear much less than it really is. 

Seventhly. The first view of the house should be from 
the most pleasing point of sight. 

Eighthly. As soon as the house is visible from the 
approach, there should be no temptation to quit it (which 
will ever be the case if the road be at all circuitous), 
unless sufficient obstacles, such as water or inaccessible 
ground, appear to justify its course.* 

Although there are many situations where these rules 
must be greatly modified in practice, yet the improver will 
do well to bear them in mind, as it is infinitely more easy 
to make occasional deviations from general rules, than to 
carry out a tasteful improvement without any guiding 
principles. 

There are many fine country residences on the banks of 
the Hudson, Connecticut, and other rivers, where the pro- 
prietors are often much perplexed and puzzled by the 
situation of their houses ; the building presenting really 
two fronts, while they appear to desire only one. Such is 
the case when the estate is situated between the public 
road on one side, and the river on the other ; and we have 
often seen the Approach artificially tortured into a long 
circuitous route, in order finally to arrive at what the 
proprietor considers the true front, viz. the side nearest 
the river. When a building is so situated, much the most 

* Repton's Inquiry into the Changes of Taste in Landscape Gardening, p. 109, 



TREATMENT OF GROUND. FORMATION OF WALKS. 341 

elegant effect is produced by having two fronts : one, the 
entrance front, with the porch or portico nearest the road, 
and the other, the riverfront, facing the water. The beauty 
of the whole is often surprisingly enhanced by this arrange- 
ment, for the visitor, after passing by the Approach through 
a considerable portion of I he grounds, with perhaps but 
slight and partial glimpses of the river, is most agreeably 
surprised on entering the house, and looking from the 
drawing-room windows of the other front, to behold another 
beautiful scene totally different from the last, enriched and 
ennobled by the wide-spread sheet of water before him. 
Much of the effect produced by this agreeable surprise 
from the interior, it will readily be seen, would be lost, if 
the stranger had already driven round and alighted on the 
river front. 

The Drive is a variety of road rarely seen among us, yet 
which may be made a very agreeable feature in some of 
our country residences, at a small expense. It is intended 
for exercise more secluded than that upon the public road, 
and to show the interesting portions of the place from the 
carriage, or on horseback. Of course it can only be formed 
upon places of considerable extent ; but it enhances the 
enjoyment of such places very highly, in the estimation of 
those who are fond of equestrian exercises. It generally 
commences where the approach terminates, viz. near the 
house : and from thence, proceeds in the same easy curvi- 
linear manner through various parts of the grounds, farm, 
or estate. Sometimes it sweeps through the pleasure 
grounds, and returns along the very beach of the river, 
beneath the fine overhanging foliage of its projecting bank ; 
sometimes it proceeds towards some favorite point of 
view, or interesting spot on the landscape ; or at others it 



342 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

leaves the lawn and traverses the farm, giving the pro- 
prietor an opportunity to examine his crops, or exhibit his 
agricultural resources to his friends. 

Walks are laid out for purposes similar to Drives, but 
are much more common, and may be introduced into every 
scene, however limited. They are intended solely for 
promenades or exercise on foot, and should therefore be 
dry and firm, if possible, at all seasons when it is desirable 
to use them. Some may be open to the south, sheltered 
with evergreens, and made dry and hard for a warm pro- 
menade in winter ; others formed of closely mown turf, 
and thickly shaded by a leafy canopy of verdure, for a cool 
retreat in the midst of summer. Others again may lead to 
some sequestered spot, and terminate in a secluded rustic 
seat, or conduct to some shaded dell or rugged eminence, 
where an extensive prospect can be enjoyed. Indeed, the 
genius of the place must suggest the direction, length, and 
number of the walks to be laid out, as no fixed rules can be 
imposed in a subject so everchanging and different. It 
should, however, never be forgotten, that the walk ought 
always to correspond to the scene it traverses, being rough 
where the latter is wild and picturesque, sometimes scarcely 
differing from a common footpath, and more polished as 
the surrounding objects show evidences of culture and high 
keeping. In direction, like the approach, it should take 
easy flowing curves, though it may often turn more 
abruptly at the interposition of an obstacle. The chief 
beauty of curved and bending lines in walks, lies in the 
new scenes which by means of them are opened to the 
eye. In the straight walk of half a mile the whole iS seen 
at a glance, and there is too often but little to excite the 
spectator to pursue the search ; but in the modern style, at 



iiV ' 




The Ravine Walk at BlitheT>rood. 



360 



TREATMENT OF GROUND. FORMATION OF WALKS. 343 

every few rods, a new turn in the walk opens a new 
prospect to the beholder, and " leads the eye," as Hogarth 
graphically expressed it, "a kind of wanton chase," con- 
tinually affording new refreshment and variety. 

Fences are often among the most unsightly and offensive 
objects in our country seats. Some persons appear to 
have a passion for subdividing their grounds into a great 
number of fields ;. a process which is scarcely ever 
advisable even in common farms, but for which there can 
be no apology in elegant residences. The close proximity 
of fences to the house gives the whole place a confined 
and mean character. " The mind," says Repton, " feels a 
certain disgust under a sense of confinement in any 
situation, howeyer beautiful." A wide-spread lawn, on the 
contrary, where no boundaries are conspicuous, conveys 
an impression of ample extent and space for enjoyment. 
It is frequently the case that, on that side of the house 
nearest the outbuildings, fences are, for convenience, 
brought in its close neighborhood, and here they are easily 
concealed by plantations ; but on the other sides, open and 
unobstructed views should be preserved, by removing all 
barriers not absolutely necessary. 

Nothing is more common, in the places of cockneys who 
become inhabitants of the country, than a display imme- 
diately around the dwelling of a spruce paling of carpentry, 
neatly made, and painted white or green ; an abomination 
among the fresh fields, of which no person of taste could 
be guilty. To fence off a small plot around a fine house, 
in the midst of a lawn of fifty acres, is a perversity which 
we could never reconcile, with even the lowest perception 
of beauty. An old stone wall covered with creepers and 
climbing plants, may become a picturesque barrier a 



344 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

thousand times superior to such a fence. But there is 
never one instance in a thousand where any barrier is 
necessary. Where it is desirable to separate the house 
from the level grass of the lawn, let it be done by an 
architectural terrace of stone, or a raised platform of 
gravel supported by turf, which will confer importance and 
dignity upon the building, instead of giving it a petty and 
trifling expression. 

Verdant hedges are elegant substitutes for stone or 
wooden fences, and we are surprised that their use has not 
been hitherto more general. We have ourselves been 
making experiments for the last ten years with various 
hedge-plants, and have succeeded in obtaining some 
hedges which are now highly admired. Five or six years 
will, in this climate, under proper care, be sufficient to 
produce hedges of great beauty, capable of withstanding 
the attacks of every kind of cattle ; barriers, too, which 
will outlast many generations. The common Arbor Vitce 
(or flat Cedar), which grows in great abundance in many 
districts, forms one of the most superb hedges, without the 
least care in trimming; the foliage growing thickly down 
to the very ground, and being evergreen, the hedge 
remains clothed the whole year. Our common Thorns, 
and in particular those known in the nurseries as the 
Newcastle and Washington thorns, form hedges of great 
strength and beauty. They are indeed much better 
adapted to this climate than the English Hawthorn, which 
often suffers from the unclouded radiance of our midsummer 
sun. In autumn, too, it loses its foliage much sooner than 
our native sorts, some of which assume a brilliant scarlet 
when the foliage is fading in autumn. In New England, 
the Buckthorn is preferred from its rapid and luxuriant 



TREATMENT OF GEOUND. FORMATION OF WALKS. 345 

growth ;* and in the middle states, the Madura, or Osage 
Orange, is becoming a favorite for its glossy and polished 
foliage. The Privet, or Prim, is a rapid growing shrub, 
well fitted for interior divisions. Picturesque hedges are 
easily formed by intermingling a variety of flowering 
shrubs, sweet briers, etc., and allowing the whole to grow 
together in rich masses. For this purpose the Michigan 
rose is admirably adapted at the north, and the Cherokee 
rose at the south. In all cases where hedges are employed 
in the natural style of landscape (and not in close con- 
nexion with highly artificial objects, buildings, etc.), a 
more agreeable effect will be produced by allowing the 
hedge to grow somewhat irregular in form, or varying it 
by planting near it other small trees and shrubs to break 
the outline, than by clipping it in even and formal lines. 
Hedges may be obtained in a single season, by planting 
long shoots of the osier willow, or any other tree which 
throws out roots easily from cuttings, 

A simple and pleasing barrier, in good keeping with 
cottage residences, may be formed of rustic work, as it is 
termed. For this purpose, stout rods of any of our native 
forest trees are chosen (Cedar being preferable) with the 
bark on, six to ten feet in length ; these are sharpened and 
driven into the ground in the form of a lattice, or wrought 
into any figures of trellis that the fancy may suggest. 
When covered with luxuriant vines and climbing plants, 
such a barrier is often admirable for its richness and 
variety. 

* The Buckthorn is perhaps the best plant where a thick screen is very 
speedily desired. It is not liable to the attack of insects ; grows very thickly 
at the bottom, at once; and will make an efficient screen sooner than almost 
any other plant. 



346 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

The sunken fence, fosse, or ha-ha, is an English in- 
vention, used in separating that portion of the lawn near 
the house, from the part grazed by deer or cattle, and is 
only a ditch sufficiently wide and deep to render com- 
munication difficult on opposite sides. When the ground 
slopes from the house, such a sunk fence is invisible to a 
person near the latter, and answers the purpose of a 
barrier without being in the least obtrusive. 

In a succeeding section we shall refer to terraces with 
their parapets, which are by far the most elegant barriers 
for a highly decorated flower garden, or for the purpose of 
maintaining a proper connexion between the house and the 
grounds, a subject which is scarcely at all attended to, or 
its importance even recognised as yet among us. 



TREATMENT OF WATER. 



347 



SECTION VIII. 



TREATMENT OF WATER. 



Eeautiru) cflects of this clement in natarc. In what citses it is desirable to attempt the 
formation of artificial pieces of water. Regular forms unpleasing. Directions for the 
formation of ponds or laltes in the irregular nrinncr. Study of natural lakes. Islands. 
Planting the margin. Treatment of natural brooks and rivulets. Cascades and water- 
falls. Legitimate sphere of the art in this department. 

The dale 

With woods o'erhung, and shagg'd with mossy rocks, 
Whence on each hand the gushing waters play, 
And down the rough cascade white-dashing fall, 
Or gleam in lengthened vista through the trees. 

Thomson. 




H E delightful and captivating effects of 
water in landscapes of every description, 
are universally known and admitted. 
The boundless sea, the broad full river, the dashing noisy 
brook, and the limpid meandering rivulet, are all possessed 
of their peculiar charms ; and when combined with scenes 
otherwise finely disposed and well wooded, they add a 
hundred fold to their beauty. The soft and trembling 
shadows of the surrounding trees and hills, as they fall 
upon a placid sheet of water — the brilliant light which the 
crystal surface reflects in pure sunshine, mirroring, too, at 
times in its resplendent bosom, all the cerulean depth and 
snowy whiteness of the overhanging sky, give it an almost 



348 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

magical effect in a beautiful landscape. The murmur of 
the babbling brook, that 

" In linked sweetness long drawn out," 

falls upon the ear in some quiet secluded spot, is inex- 
pressibly soothing and delightful to the mind ; and the 
deeper sound of the cascade that rushes, with an almost 
musical dash, over its bed of moss-covered rock, is one of 
the most fascinating of the many elements of enjoyment 
in a fine country seat. The simplest or the most mono- 
tonous view may be enlivened by the presence of water in 
any considerable quantity ; and the most picturesque and 
striking landscape will, by its addition, receive a new 
charm, inexpi'essibly enhancing all its former interest. 
In short, as no place can be considered perfectly complete 
without either a water view or water upon its own 
grounds, wherever it does not so exist and can be easily 
formed by artificial means, no man will neglect to take 
advantage of so fine a source of embellishment as is this 
element in some of its varied forms. 

" Fleuves, ruisseaux, beaux lacs, claires fontaines, 



Venez, portez partout la vie et la fraicheur ? 

Ah ! qui peut remplacer votre aspect enchanteur 1 

De pres 11 nous amuse, et de loin nous invite : 

C'est le premier qu'on cherche, et le dernier qu'on quitte. 

Vous fecondez les champs ; vous repetez les cieux ; 

Vous enchantez I'oreille, et vous charmez les yeux." 

In this country, where the progress of gardening and 
improvements of this nature, is rather shown in a simple 
and moderate embellishment of a large number of villas 
and country seats, than by a lavish and profuse expen- 
diture on a few entailed places, as in the residences of the 
English nobility, the formation of large pieces of water 



TREATMENT OF WATER. 349 

at great cost and extreme labor, would be considered 
both absurd and uncalled for. Indeed, when nature has 
so abundantly spread before us such an endless variety of 
superb lakes, rivers, and streams of every size and descrip- 
tion, the efforts of man to rival her great works by mere 
imitation, would, in most cases, only become ludicrous by 
contrast. 

When, however, a number of perpetual springs cluster 
together, or a rill, rivulet, or brook, runs through an estate 
in such a manner as easily to be improved or developed 
into an elegant expanse of water in any part of the 
grounds, we should not hesitate to take advantage of so 
fortunate a circumstance. Besides the additional beauty 
conferred upon the whole place by such an improvement, 
the proprietor may also derive an inducement from its 
utility ; for the possession of a small lake, well stocked 
with carp, trout, pickerel, or any other of the excellent 
pond fish, which thrive and propagate extremely well in 
clear fresh water, is a real advantage which no one will 
undervalue. 

There is no department of Landscape Gardening which 
appears to have been less understood in this country than 
the management of water. Although there have not been 
many attempts made in this way, yet the occasional efforts 
that have been put forth in various parts of the country, in 
the shape of square, circular, and oblong pools of water, 
indicate a state of knowledge extremely meagre, in the art 
of Landscape Gardening. The highest scale to which 
these pieces of water rise in our estimation is that of 
respectable horse-ponds ; — beautiful objects they certainly 
are not. They are generally round or square, with 
perfectly smooth, flat banks on every side, and resemble 



350 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

in lameness and insipidity, a huge basin set down in the 
middle of a green lawn. They are even, in most cases, 
denied the advantage of shade, except perhaps occasionally 
a few straggling trees can be said to fulfil that purpose ; 
for richly tufted margins, and thickets of overhanging 
shrubs, are accompaniments rare indeed.* 

* Simple and easy as would appear the artificial imitation of these variations 
of nature, yet to an unpractised hand and a tasteless mind, nothing is really 
more difficult. To produce meagre right lines and geometrical forms is 
e.xtremely easy in any of the fine arts, but to give the grace, spirit, and variety 
of nature, requires both tasteful perception and some practice ; hence, in the 
infancy of any art, the productions are characterized by extreme meagreness 
and simplicity ; — of which the first efforts to draw the human figure or to form 
artificial pieces of water, are good examples. 

Brown, who was one of the early practitioners of the modern style abroad, 
and who just saw far enough to lay aside the ancient formal method, without 
appreciating nature sufficiently to be willing to take her for his model, once 
disgraced half of the finest places in England with his tame, bald pieces of 
artificial water, and round, formal clumps of trees. Mr. Knight, in his 
elegant poem, " The Landscape," spiritedly rebuked this practice in the 
following lines: — 

" Shaved to the brink our brooks are taught to flow 
Where no obtruding leaves or branches grow : 
While clumps of shrubs bespot each winding vale 
Open alike to every gleam and gale : 
Each secret haunt and deep recess display'd. 
And intricacy banished with its shade. 

Hence, hence ! thou haggard fiend, however call'd. 
The meagre genius of the bare and bald ; 
Thy spade and mattock here at length lay down, 
And follow to the tomb, thy favorite. Brown ; 
Thy favorite Brown, whose innovating hand 
First dealt thy curses o'er this fertile land ; 
First taught the walk in spiral forms to move. 
And from their haunts the secret Dryads drove ; 
With clumps bespotted o'er the mountain's side, 
And bade the stream 'twixt banks close-shaven glide ; 
Banish'd the thickets of high tow'ring wood 
Which hung reflected o'er the glassy flood." 



TREATMENT OF WATER. 351 

Lakes or ponds are the most beautiful forms in which 
water can be displayed in the grounds of a country 
residence.* They invariably produce their most pleasing 
effects when they are below the level of the house ; as, if 
above, they are lost to the view, and if placed on a level 
with the eye, the}' are seen to much less advantage. We 
conceive that they should never be introduced where they 
do not naturally exist, except with the concurrence of the 
following circumstances. First, a sufficient quantity of 
running water to maintain at all times an overflow, for 
nothing can be more unpleasant than a stagnant pool, as 
nothing is more delightful than pure, clear, limpid water ; 
and secondly, some natural formation of ground, in which 
the proposed water can be expanded, that will not only 
make it appear natural, but diminish, a hundred fold, the 
expense of formation. 

The finest and most appropriate place to form a lake, is 
in the bottom of a small valley, rather broad in proportion 
to its length. The soil there will probably be found rather 
clayey and retentive of moisture ; and the rill or brook, if 
not already running through it, could doubtless be easily 
diverted thither. There, by damming up the lower part 
of the valley with a head of greater or less height, the water 
may be thrown back so as to form the whole body of the 
lake. 

The first subject which will demand the attention, after 
the spot has been selected for the lake or pond, and the 



* Owing to the immense scale upon which nature displays this fine element 
in North America, every sheet of water of moderate or small size is almost 
universally called a pond. And many a beautiful, limpid, natural e.xpanse, 
which in England would be thought a charming lake, is here simply a pond. 
The term may be equally correct, but it is by no means as elegant. 



352 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

height of the head and consequent depth of water deter- 
mined upon, is the proposed /orm or outline of the whole. 
And, as we have ah'eady rejected all regular and geometric 
forms, in scenes where either natural or picturesque beauty 
is supposed to predominate, we must turn our attention to 
examples for imitation in another direction. 

If, then, the improver will recur to the most beautiful 
small natural lake within his reach, he will have a subject 
to study and an example to copy well worthy of imitation. 
If he examine minutely and carefully such a body of water, 
with all its accompaniments, he will find that it is not only 
delightfully wooded and overshadowed by a variety of 
vegetation of all heights, from the low sedge that grows 
on its margin, to the tall tree that bends its branches over 
its limpid wave ; but he will also perceive a striking pecu- 
liarity in its irregular outline. This, he will observe, is 
neither round, square, oblong, nor any modification of these 
regular figures, but full of bays and projections, sinuosities, 
and recesses of various forms and sizes, sometimes bold, 
and reaching a considerable way out into the body of the 
lake, at others, smaller and more varied in shape and con- 
nexion. In the heights of the banks, too, he will probably 
observe considerable variety. At some places, the shore 
will steal gently and gradually away from the level of the 
water, while at others it will rise suddenly and abruptly, in 
banks more or less steep, irregular, and rugged. Rocks and 
stones covered with mosses, will here and there jut out 
from the banks, or lie along the margin of the water, and 
the whole scene will be full of interest from the variety, 
intricacy, and beauty of ihe various parts. If he will 
accurately note in his mind all these varied forms — their 
separate outlines, the way in which they blend into one 



TREATMENT OF WATER. 353 

another, and connect themselves together, and the effect 
which, surrounding the water, they produce as a whole, he 
will have some tolerably correct ideas of the way in which 
an artificial lake ought to be formed. 

Let him go still further now, in imagination, and suppose 
the banks of this natural lake, without being otherwise 
altered, entirely denuded of grass, shrubs, trees, and verdure 
of every description, remaining characterized only by their 
original form and outline ; this will give him a more com- 
plete view of the method in which his labors must com- 
mence ; for uncouth and apparently mis-shapen as those 
banks are and must be, when raw and unclothed, to exhibit 
all their variety and play of light and shadow when verdant 
and complete, so also must the original form of the banks 
and margin of the piece of artificial water, in order finally 
to assume the beautiful or picturesque, be made to assume 
outlines equally rough and harsh in their raw and incom- 
plete state. 

It occasionally happens, though rarely, that around the 
hollow or valley where it is proposed to form the piece of 
water, the ground rises in such irregular form, and is so 
undulating, receding, and projecting in various parts, that 
when the water is dammed up by the head below, the 
natural outline formed by the banks already existing, is 
sufficiently varied to produce a pleasing effect without much 
further preparatory labor. This, when it occurs, is exceed- 
ingly fortunate ; but the examples are so unfrequent, that 
we must here make our suggestions upon a different sup- 
position. 

When, therefore, it is found that the form of the intended 

lake would not be such as is desirable, it must be made so 

by digging. In order to do this with any exactness the 

23 



354 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

improver should take his stand at that part of the ground 
where the dam or head is to be formed, and raising his 
levelHng instrument to the exact height to which the 
intended lake will rise, sweep round with his eye upon the 
surrounding sides of the valley, and indicate by placing 
marks there, the precise line to which the water will reach. 
This can easily be done throughout the whole circumference 
by a few changes of position. 

When the outline is ascertained in this way, and marked 
out, the improver can, with the occasional aid of the leveller, 
easily determine where and how he can make alterations 
and improvements. He will then excavate along the new 
margin, until he makes the water line (as shown by the 
instrument) penetrate to all the various bays, inlets, and 
curves of the proposed lake. In making these irregular 
variations, sometimes bold and striking, at others fainter 
and less perceptible, he can be guided, as we have already 
suggested, by no fixed rules, but such as he may deduce 
from the operations of nature on the same materials, or by 
imbuing his mind with the beauty of forms in graceful and 
refined art. In highly polished scenery, elegant curves and 
graceful sweeps should enter into the composition of the 
outline ; but in wilder or more picturesque situations, more 
irregular and abrupt variations will be found most suitable 
and appropriate. 

The intended water outline once fully traced and under- 
stood, the workmen can now proceed to form the banks. 
AH this time the improve!' will keep in mind the supposed 
appearance of the bank of a natural lake stripped of its 
vegetation, etc., which will greatly assist him in his progress. 
In some places the banks will rise but little from the water, 
at others one or two feet, and at others perhaps three, four, 



TREATMENT OF WATER. 355 

or six times as much. This they will do, not in the same 
manner in all portions of the outline, sloping away with a 
like gradual rise on both sides, for this would inevitably 
produce tameness and monotony, but in an irregular and 
varied manner ; sometimes falling back gradually, some- 
times starting up perpendicularly, and again overhanging 
the bed of the lake itself. 

All this can be easily effected while the excavations of 
those portions of the bed which require deepening are 
going on. And the better portions of the soil obtained 
from the latter, will serve to raise the banks when they are 
too low. 

It is of but little consequence how roughly and 
irregularly the projections, elevations, etc., of the banks 
and outlines are at first made, so that some general form 
and connexion is preserved. The danger lies on the other 
side, viz. in producing a whole too tame and insipid ; for 
we have found by experience, how difficult it is to make 
the best workmen understand how to operate in any other 
way than in regular curves and straight lines. Besides, 
newly moved earth, by settling and the influence of rains, 
etc., tends, for some time, towards greater evenness and 
equality of surface. 

Mr. Price, in his unrivalled instructions for the creation 
of pieces of artificial water, has suggested another 
excellent method by which the outlines and banks of lakes 
may be varied. This is, first, by cutting down the banks, 
in some places nearest the water, perpendicularly, and then 
undermining them. This will produce a gradual variation 
in some parts, which", falling to pieces, will produce new 
and irregular accidental outlines. When, by the action 
of rain and frost, added to that of the water itself, large 



356 LANDSCAPE GARDENING, 

fragments of mould tumble from the hollowed banks of 
rivers or lakes, these fragments, by the accumulation of 
other mould, often lose their rude and broken form, are 
covered with the freshest grass, and enriched with tufts of 
natural flowers ; and though detached from the bank, and 
upon a lower level, still appear connected with it, and vary 
its outline in the softest and most pleasing manner. As 
fragments of the same kind will always be detached from 
ground that is undermined, so by their means the same 
effects may designedly be produced ; and they will suggest 
numberless intricacies and varieties of a soft and pleasing, 
as well as of a broken kind. 

It will of course be well understood that we have here 
not supposed our proposed lake to be located in a valley 
that must be filled to the brim, or in a tame flat when the 
water would rise to the same level as the adjacent ground. 
In such situations there could be but little room for the 
display of a high degree of picturesque beauty. On the 
contrary, when the surrounding ground in many places 
rises gradually, or is naturally higher than the proposed 
level of the water, there is room for all the variety of banks 
of various heights, form, and outline, which so spring out 
of the neighboring undulations and eminences, and con- 
nect themselves with them, as to appear perfectly natural 
and in proper keeping. 

In arranging these outlines and banks, we should study 
the effect at the points from which they will generally be 
viewed. Some pieces of water in valleys, are looked 
down upon from other and higher parts of the demesne ; 
others (and this is most generally the case) are only seen 
from the adjoining walk, at some point or points where the 
latter approaches the lake. They are most generally seen 



TREATMENT OF WATER. 357 

from one, and seldom from more than two sides. When a 
lake is viewed from above, its contour should be studied 
as a whole ; but when it is only seen from one or more 
sides or points, the beauty of the coup d'ceil from those 
positions can often be greatly increased by some trifling 
alterations in arrangement. A piece of water which is 
long and comparatively narrow, appears extremely different 
in opposite points of view ; if seen lengthwise from either 
extremity, its apparent breadth and extent is much 
increased ; while, if the spectator be placed on one side 
and look across, it will seem narrow and insignificant. 
Now, although the form of an artificial lake of moderate 
size should never be much less in breadth than in length, 
yet the contrary is sometimes unavoidably the case ; and 
being so, we should by all means avail ourselves of those 
well known laws in perspective, which will place them in 
the best possible position, relative to the spectator. 

If the improver desire to render his banks still more 
picturesque, resembling the choicest morceaux of natural 
banks, he should go a step further in arranging his materials 
before he introduces the water, or clothes the margin with 
vegetation. In analysing the finest poitions of natural 
banks, it will be observed that their peculiar characteristics 
often depend on other objects besides the mere ground of 
the surrounding banks, and the trees and verdure with 
which they are clothed. These are, rocks of various size, 
forms, and colors, often projecting out of or holding up the 
bank in various places ; stones sometimes imbedded in the 
soil, sometimes lying loosely along the shore ; and lastly, 
old stumps of trees with gnarled roots, whose decaying hues 
are often extremely mellow and agreeable to the eye. All 
these have much to do with the expression of a truly pic- 



358 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

turesque bank, and cannot be excluded or taken away from 
it without detracting largely from its character. There is 
no reason, therefore, in an imitation of nature, why we 
should not make use of all her materials to produce a similar 
effect ; and although in the raw and rude state of the banks 
at first, they may have a singular and rather outre aspect, 
stuck round and decorated here and there with large rocks, 
smaller stones, and old stumps of trees ; yet it must be 
remembered that this is only the chaotic state, from which 
the new creation is to emerge more perfectly formed and 
completed ; and also that the appearance of these rocks 
and stumps, when covered with mosses, and partially 
overgrown with a profusion of luxuriant vegetation and 
climbing plants, will be as beautifully picturesque after a 
little time has elapsed, as it is now uncouth and uninviting. 

Islands generally contribute greatly to the beauty of a 
piece of water. They serve, still further, to increase the 
variety of outline, and to break up the wide expanse of 
liquid into secondary portions, without injuring the effect 
of the whole. The striking contrast, too, between their 
verdure, the color of their margins, composed of variously 
tinted soils and stones, and the still, smooth water around 
them, — softened and blended as this contrast is, by their 
shadows reflected back from the limpid element, gives 
additional richness to the picture. 

The distribution of islands in a lake or pond requires 
some judgment. They will always appear most natural 
when sufficiently near the shore, on either side, to maintain 
in appearance some connexion with it. Although islands 
do som.etimes occur near the middle of natural lakes, yet 
the effect is by no means good, as it not only breaks and 
distracts the effects of the whole expanse by dividing it into 



TREATMENT OF WATER. 359 

two distinct parts, but it always indicates a shallowness or 
want of depth where the water should be deepest. 

There are two situations where it is universally admitted 
that islands may be happily introduced. These are, at the 
inlet and the exit of the body of water. In many cases 
where the stream which supplies the lake is not remark- 
able for size, and will add nothing to the appearance of the 
whole view from the usual points of sight, it may be con- 
cealed by an island or small group of islands, placed at 
some little distance in front of it. The head or dam of a 
lake, too, is often necessarily so formal and abrupt, that it 
is difficult to make it appear natural and in good keeping 
with the rest of the margin. The introduction of an island 
or two, placed near the main shore, on either side, and 
projecting as far as possible before the dam, will greatly 
diminish this disagreeable formality, particularly if well 
clothed with a rich tuft of shrubs and overhanging bushes. 

Except in these two instances, islands should be 
generally placed opposite the salient points of the banks, 
or near those places where small breaks or promontories 
run out into the w^ater. In such situations, they will 
increase the irregulajrity of the outline, and lend it 
additional spirit and animation. Should they, on the other 
hand, be seated in or near the marginal curve and indenta- 
tions, they will only serve to clog up these recesses ; and 
while their own figures are lost in these little bays where 
they are hidden, by lessening the already existing irre- 
gularities, they will render the whole outline tame and 
spiritless. 

On one or two of these small islands, little rustic 
habitations, if it coincide with the taste of the proprietor, 
may be made for diflferent aquatic birds or water fowl, 



360 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

which will much enliven the scene by their fine plumage. 
Among these the swan is pre-eminent, for its beauty and 
gracefulness. Abroad, they are the almost constant 
accompaniments of water in the ground of country 
residences ; and it cannot be denied that, floating about in 
the limpid wave, with their snow-white plumage and 
superbly curved necks, they are extremely elegant objects. 

After having arranged the banks, reared up the islands, 
and completely formed the bed of the proposed lake, the 
improver will next proceed, at the proper period, to finish 
his labors by clothing the newly formed ground, in various 
parts, with vegetation. This may be done immediately, if 
it be desirable ; or if the season be not favorable, it may be 
deferred until the banks, and all the newly formed earth, 
have had time to settle and assume their final forms, after 
the dam has been closed, and the whole basin filled to its 
intended height. 

Planting the margins of pieces of water, if they should 
be of much extent, must evidently proceed upon the same 
leading principle that we have already laid down for 
ornamental plantations in other situations. That is, there 
must be trees of different heights and sizes, and underwood 
and shrubs of lower growth, disposed sometimes singly, at 
others in masses, groups, and thickets : in all of which 
forms, connexion must be preserved, and the whole must be 
made to blend well together, while the different sizes and 
contours will prevent any sameness and confusion. On 
the retreating dry banks, the taller and more sturdy 
deciduous and evergreen trees, as the oak, ash, etc., may 
be planted, and nearer by, the different willows, the elm, 
the alder, and other trees that love a moister situation, will 
thrive well. It is indispensably necessary in order to 



TREATMENT OF WATER. 361 

produce breadth of effect and strong rich contrasts, that 
underwood should be employed to clothe many parts of the 
banks. Without it, the stems of trees will appear loose 
and straggling, and the screen will be so imperfect as to 
allow a free passage for the vision in every direction. For 
this purpose, we have in all our woods, swamps, and along 
our brooks, an abundance of hazels, hawthorns, alders, 
spice woods, winter berries, azaleas, spireas, and a hundred 
other fine low shrubs, growing wild, which are by nature 
extremely well fitted for such sites, and will produce 
immediate effect on being transplanted. These may be 
intermingled, here and there, with the swamp button-bush 
{Cephalanthus), which bears handsome white globular heads 
of blossoms, and the swamp magnolia, which is highly 
beautiful and fragrant. On cool north banks, among 
shelves of proper soil upheld by projecting ledges of rock, 
our native Kalmias and Rhododendrons, the' common and 
mountain laurels, may be made to flourish. The Virginia 
Creeper, and other beautiful wild vines, may be planted at 
the roots of some of the trees to clamber up their stems, 
and the wild Clematis so placed that its luxuriant festoons 
shall hang gracefully from the projecting boughs of some of 
the overarching trees. Along the lower banks and closer 
margins, the growth of smaller plants will be encouraged, 
and various kinds of wild ferns may be so planted as 
partially to conceal, overrun, and hide the rocks and 
stumps of trees, while trailing plants, as the periwinkle and 
moneywort {Lysamachia nummularia), will still further 
increase the intricacy and richness of such portions. In 
this way, the borders, of the lake will resemble the finest 
portions of the banks of picturesque and beautiful natural 
dells and pieces of water, and the effect of the whole when 



362 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

time has given it the benefit of its softening touches, if it 
has been thus properly executed, will not be much inferior 
to those matchless bits of fine landscape. A more striking 
and artistical effect will be produced by substituting for 
native trees and shrubs, common on the banks of streams 
and lakes in the country, only rare foreign shrubs, vines, 
and aquatic plants of hardy growth, suitable for such 
situations. While these are arranged in the same manner 
as the former, from their comparative novelty, especially 
in such sites, they will at once convey the idea of refined 
and elegant art. 

If any person will take the trouble to compare a piece of 
water so formed, when complete, with the square or circular 
sheets or ponds now in vogue among us, he must indeed be 
little gifted with an appreciation of the beautiful, if he do 
not at once perceive the surpassing merit of the natural 
style. In the old method, the banks, level, or rising on all 
sides, without any or but few surrounding trees, carefully 
gravelled along the edge of the water, or what is still worse, 
walled up, slope away in a tame, dull, uninteresting grass 
field. In the natural method, the outline is varied, some- 
times receding from the eye, at others stealing out, and 
inviting the gaze — the banks here slope off gently with a 
gravelly beach, and there rise abruptly in different heights, 
abounding with hollows, projections, and eminences, show- 
ing various colored rocks and soils, intermingled with a 
luxuriant vegetation of all sizes and forms, corresponding to 
the different situations. Instead of allowing the sun to 
pour down in one blaze of light, without any objects to 
soften it with their shade, the thick overhanging groups and 
masses of trees cast, here and there, deep cool shadows. 
Stealing through the leaves and branches, the sun-beams 



TREATMENT OF WATER. 363 

quiver and play upon the surface of the flood, and are 
reflected back in dancing light, while their full glow upon 
the broader and more open portions of the lake is relieved, 
and brought into harmony by the cooler and softer tints 
mirrored in the water from the surrounding hues and tints 
of banks, rocks, and vegetation. 

Natural brooks and rivulets may often be improved 
greatly by a few trifling alterations and additions, when 
they chance to come within the bounds of a country resi- 
dence. Occasionally, they may be diverted from their 
original beds when they run through distant and unfre- 
quented parts of the demesne, and brought through nearer 
portions of the pleasure grounds or lawn. This, however, 
can only be done with propriety when there is a natural 
indication in the grounds through which it is proposed to 
divert it — as a succession of hollows, etc., to form the 
future channel. Sometimes, a brisk little brook can be 
divided into smaller ones for some distance, again uniting 
at a point below, creating additional diversity by its vary- 
ing form.* 

Brooks, rivulets, and even rills may frequently be greatly 
improved by altering the form of their beds in various 
places. Often by merely removing a few trifling obstruc- 
tions, loose stones, branches, etc., or hollowing away the 

* The Abbe Delille has given us a fine image of a brook thus divided, in 
the following lines : — 

" Plus loin, 11 se separc en deux ruisseaux agiles, 
Qui, se suivant I'un I'autre avec rapidite, > 

Disputent de vitesse et de limpidite ; 
Puis, rejoignant tons deux le lit qui les rassemble, 
Murmurcnt enchantes de voyager ensemble. 
Ainsi, toujours errant do detour en detour, 
Muet, bruyant, paisible, inquiet tour a tour, 
Sous mille aspects divers son cours se renouvelle." 



864 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

adjoining bank for a short distance, fine little expanses or 
pools of still water may be formed, which are happily con- 
trasted with the more rugged course of the rest of the 
stream. Such improvements of these minor water courses 
are much preferable to widening them into flat, insipid, 
tame canals or rivers, which, though they present greater 
surface to the eye, are a thousand times inferior in the 
impetuosity of motion, and musical, " babbling sound," so 
delightful in rapid brooks and rivulets.* 

Cascades and water-falls are the most charming features 
of natural brooks and rivulets. Whatever may be their 
size they are always greatly admired, and in no way is the 
peculiar stillness of the air, peculiar to the country, more 
pleasingly broken, than by the melody of falling water. 
Even the gurgling and mellow sound of a small rill, leaping 
over a few fantastic stones, has a kind of lulling fascination 
for the ear, and when this sound can be brought so near as 
to be distinctly heard at the residence itself, it is peculiarly 
delightful.f Now any one who examines a small cascade 
at all attentively, in a natural brook, will see that it is often 
formed in the simplest manner by the interposition of a few 
large projecting stones, which partially dam up the current 
and prevent the ready flow of the water. Such little cas- 
cades are easily imitated, by following exactly the same 



* The most successful improvement of a natural brook that we have ever 
witnessed, has been efTected in the grounds of Henry Sheldon, Esq., of Tarry- 
town, N. Y. The great variety and beauty displayed in about a fourth of a 
mile of the course of this stream, its pretty cascades, rustic bridges, rockwork, 
etc., reflect the highest credit on the taste of that gentleman. 

t The fine stream which forms the south boundary of Blithewood, on the 
Hudson, the seat of R. Donaldson, Esq., affords two of the finest natural cata- 
racts that we have seen in the grounds of any private residence. Fig. 41 is a 
view of the larger cascade which falls about 60 feet over a bold, rocky bed. 




Fig. 41 The Cataract at Blithewood 



364 



TREATMENT OF WATER. 365 

course, and damming up the little brook artificially ; stu- 
diously avoiding, however, any formal and artificial dis- 
position of the stones or rocks employed. 

Larger water-falls and cascades cannot usually be made 
without some regular head or breastwork, to oppose more 
firmly the force of the current. Such heads may be formed 
of stout plank and well prepared clay ;* or, which is greatly 
preferable, of good masonry laid in water cement. After 
a head is thus formed it must be concealed entirely from 
the eye by covering it both upon the top and sides with 
natural rocks and stones of various sizes, so ingeniously 
disposed, as to appear fully to account for, or be the cause 
of the water-fall. 

The axe of the original backwoodsman appears to have 
left such a mania for clearing behind it, even in those 
portions of the Atlantic states where such labor should be 
for ever silenced, that some of our finest places in the 
country will be found much desecrated and mutilated by 
its careless and unpardonable use ; and not only are fine 
plantations often destroyed, but the banks of some of our 
finest streams and prettiest rivulets partially laid bare by 
the aid of this instrument, guided by some tasteless hand. 
Wherever fine brooks or water courses are thus mutilated, 
one of the most necessary and obvious improvements is to 
reclothe them with plantations of trees and underwood. 
In planting their banks anew, much beauty and variety 
can often be produced by employing different growths, 
and arranging them as we have directed for the margins 

* It is found that strong loam or any tenacious earth well prepared by 
puddling or beating in water is equally impervious to water as clay ; and may 
therefore be used for lining the sides or dams of bodies of made water when 
such materials are required. 



366 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

of lakes and ponds. In some places where easy, beautiful 
slopes and undulations of ground border the streams, 
gravel, soft turf, and a few simple groups of trees, will be 
the most natural accompaniments ; in others where the 
borders of the stream are broken into rougher, more 
rocky, and precipitous ridges, all the rich wildness and 
intricacy of low shrubs, ferns, creeping and climbing 
plants, may be brought in to advantage. Where the 
extent to be thus improved is considerable, the trouble 
may be lessened by planting the larger growth, and sowing 
the seeds of the smaller plants mingled together. Prepare 
the materials, and time and nature, with but little occa- 
sional assistance, will mature, and soften, and blend 
together the whole, in their own matchless and inimitable 
manner. 

From all that we have suggested in these limited 
remarks, it will be seen that we would only attempt in our 
operations with water, the graceful or picturesque imitations 
of natural lakes or ponds, and brooks, rivulets, and streams. 
Such are the only forms in which this unrivalled element 
can be displayed so as to harmonize agreeably with natural 
and picturesque scenery. In the latter, there can be no 
apology made for the introduction of straight canals, 
round or oblong pieces of water, and all the regular forms 
of the geometric mode ; because they would evidently be 
in violent opposition to the whole character and expres- 
sion of natural landscape. In architectural, or flower 
gardens (on which we shall hereafter have occasion to 
offer some remarks), where a different and highly artificial 
arrangement prevails, all these regular forms, with various 
jets, fountains, etc., may be employed with good taste, 
and will combine well with the other accessories of such 



TREATMENT OP WATER. 367 

places. But in the grounds of a residence in the modern 
style, nature, if possible, still more purified, as in the great 
chefs-d'oeuvre of art, by an ideal standard, should be the 
great aim of the Landscape Gardener. And with water 
especially, only beautiful when allowed to take its own 
flowing forms and graceful motions, more than with any 
other of our materials, all appearance of constraint and 
formality should be avoided. If art be at all manifest, it 
should discover itself only, as in the admirably painted 
landscape, in the reproduction of nature in her choicest 
developments. Indeed, many of the most celebrated 
authors who have treated of this subject, appear to agree 
that the productions of the artist in this branch are most 
perfect as they approach most nearly to fac-similes of 
nature herself: and though art should have formed the 
whole, its employment must be nowhere discovered by the 
spectator ; or as Tasso has more elegantly expressed the 
idea: 

" l'arte che tutto fa, nulla si scopre." 



368 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



SECTION IX. 



LANDSCAPE OR RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 



Difference between a city and a country liouse. The characteristic features of a country 
house. Examination of the leading principles in Rural Architecture. The different 
.styles. The Gi-ecian style, its merits and defects, and its associations. The Roman and 
Italian styles. The Pointed or Gothic style. The Tudor Mansion. The English 
Cottage, or Rural Gothic style. These styles considered in relation to situation or 
scenery. Individual tastes. Entrance Lodges. 

" A house amid the quiet country's shades, 
With length'ning vistas, ever sunny glades ; 
Beauty and fragrance clustering o'er the wall, 
A porch inviting, and an ample hall." 

RCHITEC TURE, 

either practically cohsidered 
or viewed as an art of taste, 
is a subject so important and 
^ comprehensive in itself, that 
volumes would be requisite 
to do it justice. Buildings of every description, from the 
humble cottage to the lofty temple, are objects of such 
constant recurrence in every habitable part of the globe, 
and are so strikingly indicative of the intelligence, 
character, and taste of the inhabitants, that they possess 
in themselves a great and peculiar interest for the mind. 
To have a " local habitation," — a permanent dwelling, 
that we can give the impress of our own mind, and 
identify with our own existence, — appears to be the 
ardent wish, sooner or later felt, of every man : excepting 




RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 369 

only those wandering sons of Ishmael, who pitch their 
tents with the same indifference, and as httle desire to 
remain fixed, in the flowery plains of Persia, as in the 
sandy deserts of Zahara or Arabia. 

In a city or town, or in its immediate vicinity, where 
space is limited, where buildings stand crowded together, 
and depend for their attractions entirely upon the style 
and manner of their construction, mere architectural 
effect, after convenience and fitness are consulted, is of 
course the only point to be kept in view. There, the 
facade; which meets the eye of the spectator from the 
public street, is enriched and made attractive by the 
display of architectural style and decoration, commen- 
surate to the magnitude or importance of the edifice ; and 
the whole, so far as the effect of the building is concerned, 
comes directly within the province of the architect alone. 

With respect to this class of dwellings we have little 
complaint* to make, for many of our town residences are 
highly elegant and beautiful. But how shall we designate 
that singular perversity of taste, or rather that total want 
of it, which prompts the man, who, under the name of a 
villa residence, piles up in the free open country, amid the 
green fields, and beside the wanton gracefulness of luxuriant 
nature, a stiff modern " three story brick,"' which, like a 
well bred cockney with a true horror of the country, 
doggedly seems to refuse to enter into harmonious com- 
bination with any other object in the scene, but only 
serves to call up the exclamation, 

Avaunt, stiff pile I why didrt tliou stray 
From blockis congenial in Broadway I 

\et almost dailv we see built up in the countrv husre 

24 



370 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

combinations of boards and shingles, without the least 
attempt at adaptation to situation ; and square masses 
of brick start up here and there, in the verdant slopes 
of our village suburbs, appearing as if they had been 
transplanted, by some unlucky incantation, from the close- 
packed neighborhood of city residence, and left acciden- 
tally in the country, or, as Sir Walter Scott has re- 
marked, " had strayed out to the country for an airing." 

What then are the proper characteristics of a rural 
residence ? The answer to this, in a few words, is, such 
a dwelling, as from its various accommodations, not only 
gives ample space for all the comforts and conveniences 
of a country life, but by its varied and picturesque form 
and outline, its porches, verandas, etc., also appears to 
have some reasonable connexion, or be in perfect keeping, 
with surrounding nature. Architectural beauty must be 
considered conjointly with the beauty of the landscape or 
situation. Buildings of almost every description, and 
particularly those for the habitation of man, will be 
considered by the mind of taste, not only as architectural 
objects of greater or less merit, but as component parts 
of the general scene ; united with the surrounding lawn, 
embosomed in tufts of trees and shrubs, if properly 
designed and constructed, they will even serve to impress 
a character upon the surrounding landscape. Their effect 
will frequently be good or bad, not merely as they are 
excellent or indifferent examples of a certain style of 
building, but as they are happily or unhappily combined 
with the adjacent scenery. The intelligent observer will 
readily appreciate the truth of this, and acknowledge the 
value, as well as necessity, of something besides archi- 
tectural knowledge. And he will perceive how much 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 371 

more likely to be successful are the efforts of him, who, in 
composing and constructing a rural residence, calls in to 
the aid of architecture, the genius of the landscape ; — 
whose mind is imbued with a taste for beautiful scenery, 
and who so elegantly and ingeniously engrafts art upon 
nature, as to heighten her beauties ; while by the 
harmonious union he throws a borrowed charm around 
his own creation. 

The English, above all other people, are celebrated for 
their skill in what we consider rural adaptation. Their 
residences seem to be a part of the scenes where they are 
situated ; for their exquisite taste and nice perception of 
the beauties of Landscape Gardening and rural scenery, 
lead them to erect those picturesque edifices, which, by 
their varied outlines, seem in exquisite keeping with 
nature ; while by the numberless climbing plants, shrubs, 
and fine ornamental trees with which they surround them, 
they form beautiful pictures of rural beauty. Even the 
various offices connected with the dwelling, partially 
concealed by groups of foliage, and contributing to the 
expression of domestic comfort, while they extend out, 
and give importance to the main edifice, also serve to 
connect it, in a less abrupt manner, with the grounds. 

The leading principles which should be our guide in 
Landscape or Rural Architecture, have been condensed 
by an able writer in the following heads. " 1st, As a 
useful art, in fitness for the end in view : 2d, as an 
art of design in expression of purpose : 3d, as an art 
of taste, in expression of some particular architec- 
tural STYLE." 

The most enduring and permanent source of satisfaction 
in houses is, undoubtedly, utility. In a country residence, 



372 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

therefore, of whatever character, the comfort and con- 
venience of the various members of the family being the 
first and most important consideration, the quahty of 
fitness is universally appreciated and placed in the first 
rank. In many of those articles of furniture or apparel 
which luxury or fashion has brought into use, fitness or 
convenience often gives way to beauty of form or texture : 
but in a habitation intended to shelter us from the heat 
and cold, as well as to give us an opportunity to dis}>ense 
the elegant hospitalities of refined life — the neglect of the 
various indispensable conveniences and comforts which 
an advanced state of civilization requires, would be but 
poorly compensated for by a fanciful exterior or a highly 
ornate style of building. Further than this, fitness will 
extend to the choice of situation ; selecting a sheltered 
site, neither too high, as upon the exposed summit of bleak 
hills, nor too low, as in the lowest bottoms of damp 
valleys ; but preferring those middle grounds which, while 
they afford a free circulation of air, and a fine prospect, 
are not detrimental to the health or enjoyment of the 
occupants. A proper exposure is another subject, worthy 
of the attention of either the architect or proprietor, as 
there are stormy and pleasant aspects or exposures in all 
climates. 

However much the principle oi fitness may be appre- 
ciated and acted upon in the United States, we have 
certainly great need of apology for the flagrant and almost 
constant violation of the second principle, viz. the expres- 
sion of purpose. By the expressijon of purpose in 
buildings, is meant that architectural character, or 
ensemble, which distinctly points out the particular use or 
destination for which the edifice is intended. In a 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 373 

dwelling-house, the expression of purpose is conveyed by 
the chimney-tops, the porch or veranda, and those 
various appendages indicative of domestic enjoyment, 
which are needless, and therefore misplaced, in a public 
building. In a church, the spire or the dome, when 
present, at once stamps the building with the expression 
of purpose ; and the few openings and plain exterior, with 
the absence of chimneys, az'e the suitable and easily 
recognised characteristics of the barn. Were any one to 
commit so violent an outrage upon the principle of the 
expression of purpose as to surmount his barns with the 
tall church spire, our feelings would at once cry out 
against the want of propriety. Yet how often do we 
meet in the northern states, with stables built after the 
models of Greek temples, and barns with elegant Venetian 
shutters — to say nothing of mansions with none but 
concealed chimney-tops, and without porches or append- 
ages of any kind, to give the least hint to the mind of the 
doubting spectator, whether the edifice is a chapel, a bank, 
a hospital, or the private dwelling of a man of wealth and 
opulence ! 

" The expression of the purpose for which every 
building is erected," says the writer before quoted, " is 
the first and most essential beauty, and should be obvious 
from its architecture, although independent of any 
particular style ; in the same manner as the reasons for 
things are altogether independent of the language in 
which they are conveyed. As in literary composition, no 
beauty of language can ever compensate for pov-erty of 
sense, so in architectural composition, no beauty of style 
can ever compensate for want of expression of purpose." 
Applying this excellent principle to our own country 



374 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

houses and their offices or out-buildings, we think every 
reasonable person will, at the first glance, see how 
lamentably deficient are many of the productions of our 
architects and builders, in one of the leading principles of 
the art. The most common form for an American country 
villa is the pseudo-Greek Temple ; that is, a rectangular 
oblong building, with the chimney-tops concealed, if 
possible, and instead of a pretty and comfortable porch, 
veranda, or piazza, four, six, or eight lofty wooden 
columns are seen supporting a portico, so high as neither 
to afford an agreeable promenade, nor a sufficient shelter 
from the sun and rain. 

There are two features, which it is now generally 
admitted contribute strongly to the expression of purpose 
in a dwelling-house, and especially in a country residence. 
These are the chimney-tops and the entrance porch. 
Chimney-tops, with us, are generally square masses of 
brick, rising above the roof, and presenting certainly no 
very elegant appearance, which may perhaps serve as the 
apology of those who studiously conceal them. But in a 
climate where fires are requisite during a large portion of 
the year, chimney-tops are expressive of a certain comfort 
resulting from the use of them, which characterizes a 
building intended for a dwelling in that climate. Chimney- 
tops being never, or rarely, placed on those buildings 
intended for the inferior animals, are also undoubtedly 
strongly indicative of human habitations. Instead, there- 
fore, of hiding or concealing them, they should be in all 
dwellings not only boldly avowed, but rendered ornamental ; 
for whatever is a characteristic and necessary feature, 
should undoubtedly, if possible, be rendered elegant, or at 
least prevented from being ugly. • 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 375 

Much of the picturesque effect of the old EngUsh and 
Italian houses, undoubtedly arises from the handsome and 
curious stacks of chimneys which spring out of their roofs. 
These, while they break and diversify the sky outline of the 
building, enrich and give variety to its most bare and 
unornamented part. Examples are not wanting, in all the 
different styles of architecture, of handsome and character- 
istic chimneys, which may be adopted in any of our 
dwellings of a similar style. The Gothic, or old English 
chimney, with octagonal or cylindrical flues or shafts united 
in clusters, is made in a great variety of forms, either of 
bricks or artificial stone. The former materials, moulded 
in the required shape, are highly taxed in England, while 
they may be very cheaply made here. 

A Porch strengthens or conveys expression of purpose, 
because, instead of leaving the entrance door bare, as in 
manufactories and buildings of an inferior description, it 
serves both as a note of preparation, and an effectual 
shelter and protection to the entrance. Besides this, it 
gives a dignity and importance to that entrance, pointing 
it out to the stranger as the place of approach. A fine 
country house, without a porch or covered shelter to the 
doorway of some description, is therefore as incomplete, 
to the correct eye, as a well printed book without a title 
page, leaving the stranger to plunge at once in medias res, 
without the friendly preparation of a single word of intro- 
duction. Porches are susceptible of every variety of form 
and decoration, from the embattled and buttressed portal 
of the Gothic castle, to the latticed arbor porch of the 
cottage, around which the festoons of luxuriant climbing 
plants cluster, giving an effect not less beautiful than the 
richly carved capitals of the classic portico. . 



376 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

In this country no architectural feature is more plainly- 
expressive of purpose in our dwelling-houses than the 
veranda, or piazza. The unclouded splendor and fierce 
heat of our summer sun, render this very general appendage 
a source of real comfort and enjoyment ; and the long 
veranda round many of our country residences stands 
instead of the paved terraces of the English mansions as 
the place for promenade ; while during the warmer portions 
of the season, half of the days or evenings are there passed 
in the enjoyment of the cool breezes, secure under low 
roofs supported by the open colonnade, from the solar rays, 
or the dews of night. The obvious utility of the veranda 
in this climate (especially in the middle and southern states) 
will, therefore, excuse its adoption into any style of archi- 
tecture that may be selected for our domestic uses, although 
abroad, buildings in the style in question, as the Gothic, for 
example, are not usually accompanied by such an append- 
age. An artist of the least taste or invention will easily 
compose an addition of this kind, that will be in good 
keeping with the rest of the edifice. 

These various features, or parts of the building, with 
many others which convey expression of purpose in 
domestic architecture, because they recall to the mind the 
different uses to which they are applied, and the several 
enjoyments connected with them, also contribute greatly 
to the interest of the building itself, and heighten its good 
effect as part of a harmonious whole, in the landscape. 
The various projections and irregularities, caused by 
verandas, porticoes, etc., serve to connect the otherwise 
square masses of building, by gradual transition with the 
ground about it. 

The reader, who thus recognises features as expressive 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 377 

of purpose in a dwelling intended for the habitation of man, 
we think, can be at no great loss to understand what would 
be characteristic in out-buildings or offices, farm-houses, 
lodges, stables, and the like, which are necessary structures 
on a villa or mansion residence of much size or importance. 
A proper regard to the expression of use or purpose, without 
interfering with the beauty of style, will confer at all times 
another, viz. the beauty of truth, without which no building 
can be completely satisfactory ; as deceptions of this kind 
(buildings appearing to be what they are not) always go 
far towards destroying in the mind those pleasurable emo- 
tions felt on viewing any correct work of art, however 
simple in character or design. 

We have now to consider rural architecture under the 
guidance of the third leading principle, as an art of taste. 
The expression of architectural style in buildings is un- 
doubtedly a matter of the first importance, and proper care 
being taken not to violate fitness and expression of purpose, 
it may be considered as appealing most powerfully, at once, 
to the mind of almost every person. Indeed, with many, 
it is the only species of beauty which they perceive in 
buildings, and to it both convenience and the expression 
of purpose are often ignorantly sacrificed. 

A marked style of architecture appears to us to have 
claims for our admiration or preference for rural residences, 
for several reasons. As it is intrinsically beautiful in itself; 
as it interests us by means of the associations connected 
with it ; as it is fitted to the wants and comforts of country 
life ; and as it is adapted to, or harmonizes with, the 
locality or scenery where it is located. 

The harmonious union of buildings and scenery, is a 
point of taste that appears to be but little understood in 



378 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

any country ; and mainly, we believe, because the architect 
and the landscape painter are seldom combined in the same 
person, or are seldom consulted together. It is for this 
reason that we so rarely see a country residence, or cottage 
and its grounds, making such a composition as a landscape 
painter would choose for his pencil. But it does not seem 
difficult, with a slight recurrence to the leading principle 
of unity of expression, to suggest a mode of immediately 
deciding which style of building is best adapted to harmo- 
nize with a certain kind of scenery. 

The reader is, we trust, already familiar with our 
division of landscapes into two natural classes, — the 
Beautiful and the Picturesque, — and the two accordant 
systems of improvement in Landscape Gardening which 
we have based upon these distinct characters. Now, in 
order to render our buildings perfectly harmonious, we 
conceive it only to be necessary to arrange (as we may 
very properly do) all the styles of domestic architecture in 
corresponding divisions. 

Some ingenious writer has already developed this idea, 
and, following a hint taken from the two leading schools 
of literature and art, has divided all architecture into the 
Classical and the Romantic schools of design. The 
Classical comprises the Grecian style, and all its near and 
direct offspring, as the Roman and Italian modes ; the 
Romantic school, the Gothic style, with its numberless 
variations of Tudor, Elizabethan, Flemish, and old English 
modes. 

It is easy to see, at a glance, how well these divisions 
correspond with our Beautiful and Picturesque phases of 
Landscape Gardening, so that indeed we might call the 
Grecian or Classical style, Beautiful, and the Gothic or 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 379 

Romantic stvle, the Picturesque schools in architecture. 
In classical buildings, as in beautiful landscape, we are led 
to admire simplicity of forms and outlines, purity of effect, 
and grace of composition. In the Romantic or Picturesque 
buildings, we are struck by the irregularity of forms and 
outlines, variety of effect, and boldness of composition. 
What, therefore, can be more evident in seeking to 
produce unity of effect than the propriety of selecting 
some variations of the classical style for Beautiful 
landscape, and some species of romantic irregular building 
for Picturesque landscape ? 

In a practical point of view, all buildings which have 
considerable simplicity of outline, a certain complete and 
graceful style of ornament, and a polished and refined kind 
of finish, may be considered as likely to harmonize best 
with all landscape where the expression is that of simple 
or graceful beauty — where the lawn or surface is level or 
gently undulating, the trees rich and full in foliage and 
form, and the general character of the scenery peaceful 
and beautiful. Such are the Grecian, Roman, Tuscan, 
and the chaster Italian styles. 

On the other hand, buildings of more irregular outline, 
in which appear bolder or ruder ornaments, and a certain 
free and more rustic air in finishing, are those which 
should be selected to accompany scenery of a wilder or 
more picturesque character, abounding in striking varia- 
tions of surface, wood, and water. And these are the 
Castellated, the Tudor, and the old English in all its forms. 

There is still an intermediate kind of architecture, 
originally a variation of the classical style, but which, in 
becoming adapted to different and more picturesque 
situations, has lost much of its graceful character, and has 



380 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

become quite picturesque in its outlines and effects. Of 
this kind are the Swiss and the br-acketed cottage, and the 
different highly irregular forms of the Italimi villa. The 
more simple and regular variations of these modes of 
building, may be introduced with good effect in any plain 
country ; while the more irregular and artistical forms have 
the happiest effect only in more highly varied and suitable 
localities. 

The Egyptian, one of the oldest architectural styles, 
characterized by its heavy colossal forms, and almost sub- 
lime expression, is supposed to have had its origin in caverns 
hewn in the rocks. The Chinese style, easily known by 
its waving lines, probably had its type in the eastern tent. 
The Saracenic, or Moorish style, rich in fanciful decoration, 
is striking and picturesque in its details, and is worthy of 
the attention of the wealthy amateur. 

Neither of these styles, however, is, or can well be, 
thoroughly adapted to our domestic purposes, as they are 
wanting in fitness, and have comparatively few charms of 
association for residents of this country. 

The only styles at present in common use for domestic 
architecture, throughout the enlightened portions of Europe 
and America, are the Grecian and Gothic styles, or some 
modifications of these two distinct kinds of building. These 
modifications, which of themselves are now considered 
styles by most authors, are, the Roman and modern Italian 
styles, which have grown out of Greek architecture ; the 
Castellated, the Tudor, the Elizabethan, and the rural 
Gothic or old English cottage styles, all of which are 
variations of Gothic architecture. 

Grecian or classic architecture was exhibited in its 
purity in those splendid temples of the golden days of 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 381 

Athens, which still remain in a sufficient degree of pre- 
servation to bear ample testimony to the high state of 
architectural art among the Greeks. The best works of 
that period are always characterized by wiitij and sim- 
plicity, and in them an exquisite proportion is united with 
a chasteness of decoration, which stamps them perfect 
works of art. Each of the five orders was so nicely 
determined by their profound knowledge of the harmony 
of forms, and admirably executed, that all modern attempts 
at improving them ha.ve entirely failed, for they are, indi- 
vidually, complete models. 

" First unadorned 

And nobly plain, the manly Doric rose ; 

The Ionic then with decent matron grace 

Her airy pillar heaved ; luxuriant last 

The rich Corinthian spread her wanton wreath." 

A single or double portico of columns supporting a lofty 
pediment, the latter connected with the main body of the 
building, which in most cases was a simple parallelogram, 
were the characteristic features of the pure Grecian archi- 
tecture. And this very simplicity of form, united with 
the chasteness of decoration and elegance of proportion, 
enhanced greatly the beauty of the Grecian temple as a 
whole. 

To the scholar and the man of refined and cultivated 
mind, the associations connected with Grecian architecture 
are of the most delightful character. They transport him 
back, in imagination, to the choicest days of classic litera- 
ture and art, when the disciples of the wisest and best of 
Athens listened to eloquent discourses that were daily 
delivered from her grove-embowered porticoes. When 
her temples were designed by a Phidias, and her architec- 



382 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



ture encouraged and patronized by a Pericles ; when, in 
short, all the splendor of Pagan mythology, and the wisdom 
of Greek philosophy, were combined to perfect the arts and 
sciences of that period, and the temples dedicated to the 
Olympian Jove or the stately Minerva, were redolent with 
that heauty, which the Greeks worshipped, studied, and so 
well knew how to embody in material forms. 

As it is admitted, then, that Grecian architecture is 
intrinsically beautiful in itself, and highly interesting in 
point of associations, it may be asked what are the 
objections, if any, to its common introduction into domes- 
tic Rural Architecture. 

To this we answer, that although this form meagrely 
copied. Fig. 42, is actually in more common use than any 
other style in the United States, it is greatly inferior to 
the Gothic and its modifications in fitness, including under 
that head all the comforts and conveniences of country 
life. 




[Fig. 42. Grecian Residence.] 



We have already avowed that we consider fitness and 
expression of purpose, two leading principles of the first 
importance in Rural Architecture ; and Grecian archi- 
tecture in its pure form, viz. the temple, when applied to 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 383 

the purposes of domestic life, makes a sad blow at both 
these established rules. As a public building, the Greek 
temple form is perfect, both as to fitness (having one or 
more large rooms) and expression of purpose ; — showing 
a high, broad portico for masses of people, with an ample 
opening for egress and ingress. Domestic life, on the 
contrary, requires apartments of various dimensions, 
some large and others smaller, which, to be conveniently, 
must often be irregularly placed, with perhaps openings or 
windows of different sizes or dimensions. The comforts 
of a country residence are so various, that verandas, 
porches, wings of different sizes, and many other little 
accommodations expressive of purpose, become necessary, 
and, therefore, when properly arranged, add to the beauty 
of Rural Architecture. But the admirer of the true 
Greek models is obliged to forego the majority of these ; 
and to come within the prescribed form of the rectangular 
parallelogram, his apartments must be of a given size and 
a limited number, while many things, both exterior and 
interior, which convenience might otherwise prompt, have 
to bow to the despotic sway of the pure Greek model.* 
In a dwelling of moderate dimensions how great a sacrifice 
of room is made to enable the architect to display the 
portico alone ! We speak now chiefly of houses of the 
ordinary size, for if one chooses to build a palace, it is 
evident that ample accommodations may be obtained in 
any style. 



* We are well aware that such is the rage for this style among us just now, 
and so completely have our builders the idea of its unrivalled supremacy in 
their heads, that many submit to the most meagre conveniences, under the 
name of closets, libraries, etc., in our country houses, without a murmur, 
believing that they are realizing the perfection of domestic comfort. 



384 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



It has been well observed 
by modern critics, that there 
is no reason to believe the 
temple form was ever, even 
by the Greeks, used for pri- 
vate dwellings, which easily 
accounts for our compara- 
tive failure in constructing 
[Fig. 43. Roman Residence.] Well arranged, Small resi- 

dences in this style. 

The Romans, either unable to compose in the simple 
elegance and beauty of the Grecian style, or feeling its 
want of adaptation to the multifarious usages of a more 





[Fig. 44. View at Presqiie Isle, the residence of Wm. Denning, Esq., Dutchess Co., N.Y.] 



luxurious state of society, created for themselves what is 
generally considered a less beautiful and perfect, yet which 
is certainly a more rich, varied, and, if we n^ay use the 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 385 

term, accommodating style. The Roman style is dis- 
tinguished from its prototype by the introduction of arched 
openings over the doors and windows, story piled over 
story, — often with columns of different orders — instead of 
the simple unbroken line of the Greek edifices. In 
decoration, the buildings in this style vary from plain, 
unornamehted exteriors, to the most highly decorated 
facades ; and instead of being confined to the few fixed 
principles of the Greek, the greatest latitude is often 
observed in the proportions, forms, and decorations of 
buildings in the Roman style. These very circumstances, 
while they rendered the style less perfect as a fine art, or 
for public edifices, gave it a pliability or facility of 
adaptation, which fits it more completely for domestic 
purposes. For this reason, a great portion of the finest 
specimens of the modern domestic architecture of the 
other continent is to be found in the Roman style.* 

The Italian style is, we think, decidedly the most 
beautiful mode for domestic purposes, that has been the 
direct offspring of Grecian art. It is a style which has 
evidently grown up under the eyes of the painters of more 
modern Italy, as it is admirably adapted to harmonize with 
general nature, and produce a pleasing and picturesque 
effect in fine landscapes. Retaining more or less of the 
columns, arches, and other details of the Roman style, it 
has intrinsically a bold irregularity, and strong contrast of 
light and shadow, which give it a pecuHarly striking and 
painter-like effect. 

* Perhaps the finest facade of .a private residence, in America, is that of the 
•' Patroon's house," near Albany, the ancient seat of the Van Rensselaer 
family, lately remodelled and improved by that skilful architect, Mr. Upjohn, 
of New York. 

9.-. 



386 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



"The villa architecture of modern Italy," says Mr. 
Lamb, an able architect,* " is characterized, when on 
a moderate scale, by scattered irregular masses, great 
contrasts of light and shade, broken and plain surfaces, and 
great variety of outline against the sky. The blank wall 
on which the eye sometimes reposes ; the towering cam- 
panile, boldly contrasted with the horizontal line of roof 
only broken by a few straggling chimney-tops : the row of 
equal sized, closely placed windows, contrasting with the 
plain space and single window of the projecting balcony; 
the prominent portico, the continued arcade, the terraces, 
and the variously formed and disposed out-buildings, all 
combine to form that picturesque whole, which distinguishes 
the modern Italian villa from every other. "f 

A building in the Italian style may readily be known at 
first sight, by the peculiar appearance of its roofs. These 
are always projecting at the eaves, and deeply furrowed or 




[Fig 45 A Villa in the Italian style.] 

ridged, being formed abroad of semi-cylindrical tiles, which 
give a distinct and highly marked expression to this 

* Loudon's Ency. of Arch. p. 951. 

t In this country, owing to the greater number of fire.', the effect would be 
improved by an additional number of chimney-tops. 




Fig. 48 Villa of Theodore Lyman Esq. near Boston. 




Fig. 49. Pv,6sidence of Bishop Doane, Burlington, N. J. 



387 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 387 

portion of the building.* So many appliances of comfort 
and enjoyment suited to a warm climate appear, too, in 
the villas of this style, that it has a peculiarly elegant and 
refined appearance. Among these are arcades, with the 
Roman arched openings, forming sheltered promenades ; 
and beautiful balconies projecting from single windows, or 
sometimes from connected rows of windows, which are 
charming places for a coup d'ceil, or to enjoy the cool 
breeze — as they admit, to shelter one from the sun, of a 
fanciful awning shade, which may be raised or lowered at 
pleasure. The windows themselves are bold, and well 
marked in outline, being either round-arched at the tops, 
or finished with a heavy architrave. 




[Fig. 4B. Residence of Gov. Morehead, North Carolina.] 

All these balconies, arcades, etc., are sources of real 
pleasure in the hotter portions of our year, which are quite 
equal in elevation of temperature to summers of the south 
of Europe ; while by increased thickness of walls and 

* In some sitiuitions in this country, where it might be difficult to procure 
tiles made in this form, their effect may be very accurately imitated by deeply 
ridged zinc or tin coverings. The bold projection of the eaves, in the Italian 
style, offers great protection to a house against storms and dampness. 



388 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



closeness of window fixtures, the houses may also be made 
of the most comfortable description in winter. 

The Italian chimney-tops, unlike the Grecian, are 
always openly shown and rendered ornamental ; and as 
we have already mentioned, the irregularity in the masses 
of the edifice and shape of the roof, renders the sky 
outline of a building in this style, extremely picturesque. 
A villa, however small, in the Italian style, may have an 
elegant and expressive character, without interfering 
with convenient internal arrangements, while at the same 
time this style has the very great merit of allowing 
additions to be made in almost any direction, without 
,,-.-'i',V-:-. injuring the effect of the 
2is£i;>'?-:.^'\; original structure ; indeed 
such is the variety of sizes 
and forms which the dif- 
ferent parts of an Italian 
villa may take, in perfect 

[Fig. 47. The New Haven Suburban Villa.*] aCCOrdanCC With architec- 
tural propriety, that the original edifice frequently gains in 
beauty by additions of this description. Those who are 
aware how many houses are every year erected in the 
United States by persons of moderate fortune, who would 
gladly make additions at some subsequent period, could 
this be done without injuring the effect or beauty of the 
main building, will, we think, acknowledge how much, 



M. 




* New Haven abounds with tasteful residences. " Hillhouse Avenue," in 
particular, is remarkable for a neat display of Tuscan or Italian Suburban 
Villas. Moderate in dimension and economical in construction, these exceed- 
ingly neat edifices may be considered as models for this kind of dwelling. 
Fig. 47, without being a precise copy of any one of these buildings, may be 
taken as a pretty accurate representation of their general appearance. 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 389 

even were it in this single point alone, the Italian style is 
superior to the Grecian for rural residences.* 

* The villa of Theodore Lyman, Esq., at Brookline, near Boston, Fig. 48, 
is a highly interesting specimen of this style, designed by Mr. Upjohn — 
beautiful in exterior effect, and replete internally with every comfort and 
convenience. 

Riverside Villa, the residence of Bishop Doane, at Burlington, New 
Jersey, is one of the best examples of the Italian style in this country. For 
the drawings from which Figures 49 and 50 are engraved, and for the 
following description, we are indebted to the able architect, John Notman, 
Esq., of Philadelphia, from whose designs the whole was constructed. 

The site of this villa is upon the east bank of the Delaware river, near the 
town of Burlington, and within a few rods of the margin of this lovely 
aream. 

The Delaware, at this part of its course, takes a direction nearly wett ; and 
while the river liont (comprising the drawing room, hall, and library), com- 
manding the finest water views, which are enjoyed to the greatest advantage 
in summer, has a cool aspect: the opposite side of the house, including the 
dining room, parlor, etc., is the favorite quarter in winter, being fully exposed 
to the genial influence of the sunbeams during the absence of foliage at that 
season. From this side of the house, a view is obtained of the pretty suburbs 
of Burlington, studded with neat cottages and gardens. 

In the accompanying plan, fig. 50, a, is the hall ; b, the vestibule ; c, the 
dining room ; d, the library ; e, the drawing room ; /, the parlor ; g. Bishop 
D.'s room ; A, dressing room ; i, water closets ; j, bath room ; k, store room ; 
I, principal stairs ; m, back stairs ; o, conservatory ; p, veranda, etc. 

A small terrace with balustrade, which surrounds the hall door, gives 
importance to this leading feature of the entrance front. The hall, a, is 17 
feet square ; on the right of the arched entrance is a casement window, 
opening to the floor, occasionally used as a door in winter, when the wind is 
north. The vestibule, 6, opens from the hall, 17 by 21 feet. In the ceiling 
of this central apartment is a circular opening, with railing in the second 
story, forming a gallery above, which communicates with the different 
chambers, and affords ventilation to the whole house. Over this circular 
opening is a sky-light in the roof, which, mellowed and softened by a second 
colored one below it, serves to light the vestibule. From the vestibule we 
enter the dining room, h, 17 by 25 feet. The fine vista through the hall, 
vestibule, and dining room, 70 feet in length, is here terminated by the bay- 
window at the extremity of the dining room, which, through the balcony, 
opens on the lawn, varied by groups of shrubbery. On the left side of the 
vestibule, through a wide circular headed opening, we enter upon the principal 



390 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



Pleasing associations are connected with Roman and 
Italian architecture, especially to those who have studied 

stairs, I. This opening is balanced by a recess on the opposite side of the 
vestibule. From the latter, a door also opens into the library, d, and another 
into the drawing room, e : offering, by a window in the library, in a line with 




[Fig. 50. Plan of the P/inci])al Floor.] 

these doors, another fine vista in this direction. The library, 18 by 30 feet, 
and 16 feet high, is fitted up in a rich and tasteful manner, and completely 
filled with choice books. The bay-window, seen on the left in the perspective 
view. Fig. 49, is a prominent feature in this room, admitting, through its 
colored panes, a pleasing, subdued light, in keeping with the character of the 
apartment. The drawing room is 19 by 30 feet, with an enriched panelled 
ceiling, 15 feet high. At the extremity of this apartment, the veranda, p, 
with a charming view, affords an agreeable lounge in summer evenings, 
cooled by the breeze from the river. From the drawing room, a glazed door 
opens to the conservatory, o, and another door to the parlor, /. The latter is 
18 by 20 feet, looking across the lawn and into the conservatory. Among 
the minor details arc a china closet, r, and a butler's closet, s, in the dining 
room ; through the latter, the dishes are carried to and from the kitchen, 
larder, etc. The smaller passage leading from the main staircase, opens to 
the store room, k, and other apartments already designated, and communicates 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 391 

their effect in all the richness and beauty with which they 
are invested in the countries where they originated ; and 
they may be regarded with a degree of classic interest by 
every cultivated mind. The modern Italian style recalls 
images of that land of painters and of the fine arts, where 
the imagination, the fancy, and taste, still revel in a world 
of beauty and grace. The great number of elegant forms 
which have grown out of this long cultivated feeling for 
the beautiful in the fine arts, — in the shape of fine vases, 
statues, and other ornaments, which harmonize with, and 
are so well adapted to enrich, this style of architecture, — 
combine to render it in the fine terraced gardens of 
Florence and other parts of Italy, one of the richest and 
most attractive styles in existence. Indeed we can hardly 
imagine a mode of building, which in the hands of a man 
of wealth and taste, may, in this country, be made pro- 
ductive of more beauty, convenience, and luxury, than 
the modern Italian style ; so well suited to both our hot 
summers and cold winters, and which is so easily suscep- 
tible of enrichment and decoration, while it is at the same 
time so well adapted to the material in the most common 
use at present in most parts of the country, — wood. 
Vases, and other beautiful architectural ornaments, may 
now be procured in our cities, or imported direct from 
the Mediterranean, finely cut in Maltese stone, at very 

by the back stairs, m, with the sen-ants' chambers, placed over this part of the 
house, apart from those in the main body of the edifice. The large kitchen 
area, t, is sunk one story, by which the noise and smells of the kitchen, 
situated under the dining room, are entirely excluded from the principal story. 
In this sunk story, are also a wash room, scullery, and ample room for 
cellerage, wine, coals, etc. -A forcing-pump supplies the whole house with 
water from the river ; and in the second story are eight principal chambers, 
averaging 360 square feet each, making in all 25 rooms in the house, of large 
size. 



392 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



moderate prices, and which serve to decorate both the 
grounds and buildings in a handsome manner. 

From the Italian style it is an easy transition to the 
Swiss mode, a bold and spirited one, highly picturesque 
and interesting in certain situations. To build an exact 
copy of a Swiss cottage in a smooth cultivated country, 
would, both as regards association and intrinsic want 
of fitness, be the height of folly. But in a wild and 
mountainons region, such as the borders of certain deep 
valleys and rocky glens in the Hudson Highlands, or 
rich bits of the Alleghanies, positions may be found 
where the Swiss cottage (Fig. 51), with its low and broad 
roof, shedding off the heavy snows, its ornamented 
exterior gallery, its strong and deep brackets, and its 
rough and rustic exterior, would be in the highest degree 
appropriate. 




[Fig. 51. The Swiss Cottage.] 



A modification, partaking somewhat of the Italian and 
Swiss features, is what we have described more fully in our 
" Cottage Residences" as the Bracketed mode. It possesses 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 393 

a good deal of character, is capable of considerable pic- 
turesque effect, is very easily and cheaply constructed of 
wood or stone, and is perhaps more entirely adapted to our 




[Fig. 52 The Bracketed Mode.] 

hot summers and cold winters than any other equally 
simple mode of building. We hope to see this Bracketed 
style becoming every day more common in the United 
States, and especially in our farm and country houses, 
when wood is the material employed in their construction. 
Gothic, or more properly, pointed architecture, which 
sprang up with the Christian religion, reached a point of 
great perfection about the thirteenth century ; a period 
when the most magnificent churches and cathedrals of 
England and Germany were erected. These wonderful 
structures, reared by an almost magical skill and contriv- 
ance, with their richly groined roofs of stone supported in 
mid-air ; their beautiful and elaborate tracery and carving 
of plants, flowers, and animate objects ; their large windows, 



394 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

through which streamed a rich glow of rainbow light ; their 
various buttresses and pinnacles, all contributing to 
strengthen, and at the same time give additional beauty to 
the exterior ; their clustered columns, airy-like, yet firm ; 
and, surmounting the whole, the tall spire, piled up to an 
almost fearful height towards the heavens, are lasting 
monuments of the genius, scientific skill, and mechanical 
ingenuity of the artists of those times. That person, who, 
from ignorance or prejudice, fully supposes there is no 
architecture but that of the Greeks, would do well to study 
one of these unrivalled specimens of human skill. In so 
doing, unless he closes his eyes against the evidences of his 
senses, he cannot but admit that there is far more genius, 
and more mathematical skill, evinced in one of these 
cathedrals, than would have been requisite in the construc- 
tion of the most celebrated of the Greek temples. Though 
they may not exhibit that simplicity and harmony of pro- 
portion which Grecian buildings display, they abound in 
much higher proofs of genius, as is abundantly evinced in 
the conception and execution of Cathedrals so abounding 
in unrivalled sublimity, variety, and beauty. 

Gothic architecture, in its purity, was characterized 
mainly by the pointed arch. This novel feature in archi- 
tecture, which, probably, in the hands of artists of great 
mathematical skill, was suggested by the inefficiency of the 
Roman arch first used, has given rise to all the superior 
boldness and picturesqueness of this style compared with 
the Grecian ; for while the Greek artist was obliged to 
cover his narrow openings with architraves, or solid blocks 
of stone, resting on columns at short intervals, and fiUing 
up the open space, the Gothic artist, by a single span of 
his pointed arch, resting on distant pillars, kept the whole 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 395 

area beneath free and unencumbered. Applied, too, to 
openings for the admission of light, which were deemed 
of comparatively little or no importance by the Greeks, the 
arch was of immense value, making it possible to pierce 
the solid wall with large and lofty apertures, that diffused 
a magical brilliancy of light in the otherwise dim and 
shadowy interior. 

We have here adverted to the Gothic cathedral (as we 
did to the Greek temple) as exhibiting the peculiar style in 
question in its greatest purity. For domestic purposes, 
both, for the same reasons, are equally unfitted ; as they 
were never so intended to be used by their original invent- 
ors, and being entirely wanting in fitness for the purposes 
ot habitation in domestic life ; the Greek temple, as we 
have already shown, from its massive porticoes and the 
simple rectangular form of its interior ; and the Gothic 
cathedral, from its high-pointed windows, and immense 
vaulted apartments. It would scarcely, however, be more 
absurd to build a miniature cathedral, for a dwelling in the 
Gothic style, than to make an exact copy of the Temple of 
Minerva 30 by 50 feet in size, for a country residence, as 
we often witness in this country. 

The Gothic Style, as applied to Domestic Architecture, 
has been varied and adapted in a great diversity of ways, 
to the wants of society in different periods, from the 12th 
century to the present time. The baronial castle of feudal 
days, perched upon its solitary, almost inaccessible height, 
and built strongly for defence ; the Collegiate or monastic 
abbey of the monks, suited to the rich fertile plains which 
these jolly ascetics so- well knew how to select ; the Tudor 
or Elizabethan mansion, of the English gentleman, sur- 
rounded by its beautiful park, filled with old ancestral trees ; 



396 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



and the pretty, rural, gabled cottage, of more humble pre- 
tensions ; are all varieties of this multiform style, easily 
adapting itself to the comforts and conveniences of private 
life. 

Contrasted with Classic Architecture and its varieties, 
in which horizontal lines are most prevalent, all the differ- 
ent Gothic modes or styles exhibit a preponderance of 
vertical or perpendicular lines. In the purer Gothic 
Architecture, the style is often determined by the form of 
the arch predominant in the window and door openings, 
which in all edifices (except Norman buildings) were lancet- 
shaped, or high pointed, in the 13th century ; four centred, 
or low arched, in the times of Henry VII. and VIII. ; and 
finally square-headed, as in most domestic buildings of 
later date. 

Castellated Gothic is easily known, at first sight, by the 
line of battlements cut out of the solid parapet wall, which 
surmounts the outline of the building in every part. These 
generally conceal the roof, which is low, and were origin- 
ally intended as a shelter to those engaged in defending the 

building against assaults. 
Modern buildings in the 
castellated style, without 
sacrificing almost every- 
thing to strength, as was 
once necessary, preserve 
the general character of 
,, ^ , the ancient castle, while 

[Fig. 53. The Castellated Mode. J 

they combine with it almost every modern luxury. In 
their exteriors, we perceive strong and massive octagonal 
or circular towers, rising boldly, with corbelled or project- 
ing cornices, above the ordinary level of the building. The 




RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 397 

f 

windows are either pointed or square-headed, or perhaps a 
mixture of both. The porch rises into a turreted and 
embattled gateway, and all the offices and out-buildings 
connected with the main edifice, are constructed in a style 
corresponding to that exhibited in the main body of the 
building. The whole is placed on a distinct and firm 
terrace of stone, and the expression of the edifice is that 
of strength and security. 

This mode of buijding is evidently of too ambitious and 
expensive a kind for a republic, where landed estates are 
not secured by entail, but divided, according to the dictates 
of nature, among the diflei'ent members of a family. It is, 
perhaps, also rather wanting in appropriateness, castles 
never having been used for defence in this country. 
Notwithstanding these objections, there is no very weighty 
reason why a wealthy proprietor should not erect his 
mansion in the castellated style, if that style be in unison 
with his scenery and locality. Few instances, however, 
of sufficient wealth and taste to produce edifices of this 
kind, are to be met with among us ; and the castellated 
style is therefore one which w^e cannot fully recommend 
for adoption here. Paltry imitations of it, in materials less 
durable than brick or stone, would be discreditable to any 
person having the least pretension to correct taste. 

The Castellated style never appears completely at home 
except in wild and romantic scenery, or in situations where 
the neighboring mountains, or wild passes, are sufficiently 
near to give that character to the landscape. In such 
localities the Gothic castle affects us agreeably, because we 
know that baronial castles were generally built in similar 
spots, and because the battlements, towers, and other bold 
features, combine well with the rugged and spirited 



398 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

character of the surrounding objects. To place such a 
building in this country on a smooth surface in the midst 
of fertile plains, would immediately be felt to be bad taste 
by every one, as from the style not having been before our 
eyes from childhood, as it is in Europe, we immediately 
refer to its original purposes, — those of security and 
defence. 

A mansion in the Tiulor Style affords the best example 
of the excellence of Gothic architecture for domestic 
purposes. The roof often rises boldly here, instead of 
being concealed by the parapet wall, and the gables are 
either plain or ornamented with crockets. The windows 
are divided by mullions, and are generally enriched with 
tracery in a style less florid than that employed in churches, 
but still sufliciently elegant to give an appearance of 
decoration to these parts of the building. Sometimes the 
low, or Tudor arch, is displayed in the window-heads, but 
most commonly the square-headed window with the Gothic 
label is employed. Great latitude is allowed in this 
particular, as well as in the size of the window, provided 
the general details of style are attended to. Indeed, in the 
domestic architecture of this era, the windows and doors 
are often sources of great architectural beauty, instead of 
being left mere bare openings filled with glass, as in the 
Classic styles. Not only is each individual window 
divided by mullions into compartments whose tops are 
encircled by tracery ; but in particular apartments, as the 
dining-hall, library, etc., these are filled with richly stained 
glass, which gives a mellow, pleasing light to the apartment. 
Added to this, the windows, in the best Tudor mansions, 
affect a great variety of forms and sizes. Among these 
stand conspicuous the bay and oriel windows. The bay- 




Mr. Paulding's Residence, Tarryto^wn, N. T. 




Residence of the Author, near Newhurgh, N. T. 



308 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 399 

window, which is introduced on the first or principal floor, 
in most apartments of much size or importance, is a 
window of treble or quadruple the common size, projecting 
from the main body of the room in a semi-octagonal or 
hexagonal form, thereby affording more space in the 
apartment, from the floor to the ceiling, as well as giving 
an abundance of light, and a fine prospect in any favorite 
direction. This, while it has a grander effect than several 
windows of moderate size, gives a variety of form and 
outline to the different apartments, that can never be so 
well attained when the windows are mere openings cut in 
the solid walls. The oriel-window is very similar to the 
bay-window, but projecting in a similar manner from the 
upper story, supported on corbelled mouldings. These 
windows are not only elegant in the interior, but by 
standing out from the face of the walls, they prevent any- 
thing like too great a formality externally, and bestow a 
pleasing variety on the different fronts of the building. 

The sky outline of a villa in the Tudor Gothic style, is 
highly picturesque. It is made up of many fine features. 
The pointed gables, with their finials, are among the most 
striking, and the neat parapet wall, either covered with a 
moulded coping, or, perhaps, diversified with battlements ; 
the latter not so massive as in the castellated style, but 
evidently intended for ornament only. The roof line is 
often varied by the ornamented gablet of a dormer window, 
rising here and there, and adding to the quaintness of the 
whole. We must not forget, above all, the highly enriched 
chimney shaft, which, in the English examples, is made of 
fancifully moulded bricks, and is carried up in clusters 
some distance above the roof How much more pleasing 
for a dwelling must be the outline of such a building, than 



100 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

ihat of a simple square roof whose summit is one unbroken 
straight Hne !* 

The inclosed entrance porch, approached by three or 
four stone steps, with a seat or two for servants waiting, is 
a distinctive mark of all the old EngUsh houses. This 
projects, in most cases, from the main body of the edifice, 
and opens directly into the hall. The latter apartment is 
not merely (as in most of our modern houses) an entry, 
narrow and long, running directly through the house, but 
has a peculiar character of its own, being rather spacious, 
the roof or ceiling ribbed or groined, and the floor often 
inlaid with marble tiles. A corresponding and suitable 
style of finish, with Gothic details, runs through all the 
different apartments, each of which, instead of being 
finished and furnished with the formal sameness here so 
prevalent, displays, according to its peculiar purposes — 
as the dining-room, drawing-room, library, etc. — a marked 
and characteristic air. 

We have thus particularized the Tudor mansion, because 
we believe that for a cold country like England or the 
United States, it has strong claims upon the attention of 
large landed proprietors, or those who wish to realize in a 
country residence the greatest amount of comfort and 
enjoyment. With the addition, here, of a veranda, which 
the cool summers of England render needless, we believe 
the Tudor Gothic to be the most convenient and com- 
fortable, and decidedly the most picturesque and striking 

* Two miles south of Albany, on a densely wooded hill, is the villa of Joel 
Rathbone, Esq., Fig. 54, one of the most complete specimens of the Tudor 
style in the United States. It was built from the designs of Davis, and is, 
to the amateur, a very instnictive e.xample of this mode of domestic archi- 
tecture. 




Fig. 64. Residence of Joel Rathbone, E.sq. n^aT Al'banT-, N '. 



grn^ 




Fig. 55. Cottage of S. E. Lyon, Esq. White Plains, N Y. 




Fig. 56. A Mansion in fhe ElizalDetlian style. 




Fig. 57. Th.e Residence of fhe Rev. Robert Bolton, near 
New RociLelle, N. Y. 



401 



RURAL ARCHITKCTURE. 401 

Style, for country residences of a superior class.* The 
materials generally employed in their construction in 
England, are stone aud brick ; and of late years, brick 
and stucco has come into very general use. 

The Elizabethan Style, that mode of building so com- 
mon in England in the 17th century, — a mixture of 
Gothic and Grecian in its details — is usually considered as 
a barbarous kind of architecture, wanting in purity of 
taste. Be this as it may, it cannot be denied that in the 
finer specimens of this style, there is a surprising degree 
of richness and picturesqueness for which we may look in 
vain elsewhere. In short it seems, in the best examples, 
admirably fitted for a bowery, thickly foliaged country, 
like England, and for the great variety of domestic 
enjoyments of its inhabitants. In the most florid examples 
of this style, of which many specimens yet remain, we 
often meet with every kind of architectural feature and 
ornament, oddly, and often grotesquely combined — pointed 
gables, dormer-windows, steep and low i-oofs, twisted 
columns, pierced parapets, and broad windows with small 
lights. Sometimes the effect of this fantastic combination 
is excellent, but often bad. The florid Elizabethan style 
is, therefore, a very dangerous one in the hands of any 
one but an architect of profound taste ; but we think in 
some of its simpler forms (Fig. 56), it may be adopted for 
country residences here in picturesque situations with a 
quaint and happy effect. f 

* The residence of Samuel E. Lyon, Esq., at Wliite Plains, N. Y., Fig. 55, 
\i a very pleasing example of tlio Tudor Cottage. 

The seat of Robert Gilmor, Esq., near Baltimore, in the Tudor style, is a 
very extensive pile of building.' 

t A highly unique ie.?idcncc in the old English syle, is Pclham Priory, the 
scat of the Rev. Robert Bolton, near New RochcUo, N. Y., Fig. 57. The 

20 



402 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. * 

The English cottage style, or what we have denominated 
Rural Gothic, contains within itself all the most striking 
and peculiar elements of the beautiful and picturesque in 
its exterior, while it admits of the greatest possible variety 
of accommodation and convenience in internal arrange- 
ment. 

In its general composition, Rural Gothic really differs 
from the Tudor style more in that general simplicity 
which serves to distinguish a cottage or villa of moderate 
size from a mansion, than in any marked character of its 
own. The square-headed windows preserve the same 
form, and display the Gothic label and mullions, though 
the more expensive finish of decorative tracery is fre- 
quently omitted. Diagonal or latticed lights are also more 
commonly seen in the cottage style than in the mansion. 
The general form and arrangement of the building, though 
of course much reduced, is not unlike that of the latter 
edifice. The entrance porch is always preserved, and the 
bay-window jutting out from the best apartment, gives 
variety, and an agreeable expression of use and enjoyment, 
to almost every specimen of the old English cottage. 

Perhaps the most striking feature of this charming style 
as we see it in the best old English cottages, is the pointed 
gable. This feature, which grows out of the high roofs 

exterior is massive and picturesque, in the simplest taste of the Elizabethan 
age, and being built amidst a fine oak wood, of the dark rough stone of the 
neighborhood, it has at once the appearance of considerable antiquity. The 
interior is constructed and fitted up throughout in the same feeling, — with 
hannonious wainscoting, quaint carving, massive chimney pieces, and old 
iurniture and armor. Indeed, we doubt if there is, at the present moment, 
any recent pnvate residence, even in England, where the spirit of the antique 
is more entirely carried out, and where one may more easily fancy himself in 
one of those " mansions builded curiously " of our ancestors in the time of 
" good Queen Bess." 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 408 

adopted, not only appears in the two ends of the main 
building, but terminates every wing or projection of almost 
any size that joins to the principal body of the house. The 
gables are either of stone or brick, with a handsome 
moulded coping, or they are finished with the widely pro- 
jecting roof of wood, and verge boards, carved in a fanciful 
and highly decorative shape. In either case, the point or 
apex is crowned by a finial, or ornamental octagonal shaft, 
rendering the gable one of the greatest sources of interest 
in these dwellings. The projecting roof renders the walls 
always dry. 

The porch, the labelled windows, the chimney shafts, 
and the ornamented gables, being the essential features in 
the composition of the English cottage style, it is evident 
that this mode of building is highly expressive of purpose, 
for country residences of almost eveiy description and size, 
from the humblest peasant's cottage, to the beautiful and 
picturesque villa of the retired gentleman of fortune. In 
the simple form of the cottage, the whole may be con- 
structed of wood very cheaply, and in the more elaborate 
villa residence, stone, or brick and cement, may be preferred, 
as being more permanent. No style so readily admits of 
enrichment as that of the old English cottage when on a 
considerable scale ; and by the addition of pointed verandas, 
bay windows, and dormer-windows, by the introduction of 
mullions and tracery in the window openings, and indeed, 
by a multitude of interior and exterior enrichments gene- 
rally applied to the Tudor mansions, a villa in the rural 
Gothic style may be made a perfect gem of a country 
residence. Of all the styles hitherto enumerated, we con- 
sider this one of the most suitable for this country, as, 
while it comes within the reach of all persons of moderate 



404 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

means, it unites, as we before stated, so much of conve- 
nience and rural beauty.* 

To the man of taste, there is no style which presents 
greater attractions, being at once rich in picturesque 
beauty, and harmonious in connexion with the surrounding 
forms of vegetation. The Grecian villa, with its simple 
forms and horizontal lines, seems to us only in good keeping 
when it is in a smooth, highly cultivated, peaceful scene. 
But the Rural Gothic, the lines of which point upwards, in 
the pyramidal gables, tall clusters of chimneys, finials, and 
the several other portions of its varied outline, hai'monizes 
easily with the tall trees, the tapering masses of foliage, or 
the surrounding hills ; and while it is seldom or never 
misplaced in spirited rural scenery, it gives character and 
picturesque expression to many landscapes entirely devoid 
of that quality. 

What we have already said in speaking of the Italian 
style, respecting the facility with v/hich additions may be 
made to in'egular houses, applies with equal, or even 
greater force, to the varieties of the Gothic style, just 
described. From the very fact that the highest beauty of 
these modes of building arises from their irregularity 
(opposed to Grecian architecture, which, in its chaste 
simplicity, should be regular), it is evident that additions 



* The only objection that can be urged against this mode of building, is that 
which applies to all cottages with a low second story, viz. want of coolness in 
the sleeping chambers during mid-summer. An evil which may be remedied 
by constructing a false inner-roof — leaving a vacuity between the two roofs of 
six or eight inches, which being occupied with air and ventilated at the top, will 
almost entirely obviate the objection. 

In our Cottage Residences, Design II., we have shown how the comfort of 
a full second story, suitable for this climate, may be combined with the expres- 
sion of the English cottage style. 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 405 

judiciously made will tend to increase this beauty, or afford 
more facility for its display ; while it is equally evident 
that in the interior arrangement, including apartments of 
every description, superior opportunities are afforded for 
attaining internal comfort and convenience, as well as 
external effect. 

The ideas connected in our minds with Gothic 
architecture are of a highly romantic and poetical nature, 
contrasted with the classical associations which the 
Greek and Roman styles suggest. Although our own 
country is nearly destitute of ruins and ancient time- 
worn edifices, yet the literature of Europe, and particularly 
of what we term the mother country, is so much our own, 
that we form a kind of delightful ideal acquaintance with 
the venerable castles, abbeys, and strongholds of the 
middle ages. Romantic as is the real history of those 
times and places, to our minds their charm is greatly 
enhanced by distance, by the poetry of legendary 
superstition, and the fascination of fictitious narrative. 
A castellated residence, therefore, in a wild and pictur- 
esque situation, may be interesting, not only from its being 
])erfectly in keeping with surrounding nature, but from 
the delightful manner in which it awakens associations 
fraught with the most enticing history of the past. 

The older domestic architecture of the English may be 
viewed in another pleasing light. Their buildings and 
residences have not only the recommendation of beauty 
and complete adaptation, but the additional charm of 
having been the homes of our ancestors, and the dwellings 
of that bright galaxy of. English genius and worth, which 
illuminates equally the intellectual firmament of both 
hemispheres. He who has extended his researches, con 



406 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

amore, into the history of the domestic life and habits of 
those illustrious minds, will not, we are sure, forget that 
lowly cottage by the side of the Avon, where the great 
English bard was wont to dwell ; the tasteful residence 
of Pope at Twickenham ; or the turrets and battlements 
of the more picturesque Abbotsford ; and numberless other 
examples of the rural buildings of England, once the 
abodes of renowned genius. In truth, the cottage and 
villa architecture of the English has grown out of the 
feelings and habits of a refined and cultivated people, 
whose devotion to country life, and fondness for all its 
pleasures, are so finely displayed in the beauty of their 
dwellings, and the exquisite keeping of their buildings and 
grounds. 

We must be permitted to quote, in further proof of 
English taste and habits, and their results in their country 
residences, the testimony of our countryman, Washington 
Irving, in one of his most elegant essays. " The taste of 
the English in the cultivation of land, and in what is called 
Landscape Gardening, is unrivalled. They have studied 
nature intently, and discovered an exquisite sense of her 
beautiful forms and harmonious combinations. Those 
charms which in other countries she lavishes in wild 
solitudes, are here assembled around the haunts of 
domestic life. They seem to have caught her coy and 
furtive graces, and spread them like witchery about their 
rural abodes. Nothing can be more imposing than the 
magnificence of English park scenery. Vast lawns that 
extend like sheets of vivid green, with here and there 
clumps of gigantic trees heaping up rich piles of foliage. 
The solemn group of groves and woodland glades, with 
the deer trooping in silent herds across them ; the hare 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 407 

bounding away to the covert, or the pheasant bursting 
suddenly upon the wing. The brook, taught to wind in 
natural meanderings, or to expand into a glassy lake, — the 
sequestered pool reflecting the quivering trees, with the 
j'ellow leaf sleeping upon its bosom, and the trout roaming 
fearlessly about its limpid waters ; while some rustic 
temple or sylvan statue, grown green and dark with age, 
gives an air of classic sanctity to the seclusion." 

" These are but a few of the features of park scenery ; 
but what most delights me, is the creative talent with 
which the English decorate the unostentatious abodes of 
middle life. The rudest habitation, the most unpromising 
and scanty portion of land, in the hands of an Englishman 
of taste, becomes a little paradise. With a nicely 
discriminating eye he seizes at once upon its capabilities, 
and pictures in his mind the future landscape. Thq sterile 
spot grows into loveliness under his hand ; and yet the 
operations of art u-hich produce the effect are scarcely to 
be perceived ; the cherishing and training of some trees : 
the cautious pruning of others ; the nice distribution of 
flowers and plants of tender and graceful foliage ; the 
introduction of a green slope of velvet turf; the partial 
opening to a peep of blue distance, or silver gleam of 
water, — -all these are managed with a delicate tact, a per- 
vading, yet quiet assiduity, like the magic touchings with 
which a painter finishes up a favorite picture." 

" The residence of people of fortune and refinement in 
the country, has diffused a degree of taste and elegance 
that descends to the lowest class. The very laborer, with 
his thatched cottage and narrow slip of ground, attends to 
their embellishment. The trim hedge, the grass-plot before 
the door, the little flower bed bordered with snug box, the 



408 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

woodbine trained up against the wall, and hanging its 
blossoms about the lattice ; the pot of flowers in the 
window ; the holly providentially planted about the house 
to cheat winter of its dreariness, and to throw in a 
semblance of green summer to cheat the fireside : — all 
these bespeak the influence of taste flowing down from 
high sources, and pervading the lowest levels of the public 
mind. If ever Love, as the poets sing, delights to visit a 
cottage, it must be the cottage of an English peasant." 

It is this love of rural life and this nice feeling of the 
harmonious union of nature and art, that reflects so much 
credit upon the English as a people, and which sooner or 
later we hope to see completely naturalized in this country. 
Under its enchanting influence, the too great bustle and 
excitement of our commercial cities will be happily counter- 
balanced by the more elegant and quiet enjoyments of 
country life. Our rural residences, evincing that love of 
the beautiful and the picturesque, which, combined with 
solid comfort, is so attractive to the eye of every beholder, 
will not only become sources of the purest enjoyment to 
the refined minds of the possessors, but will exert an 
influence for the improvement in taste of every class in 
our community. The ambition to build " shingle palaces" 
in starved and meagre grounds, we are glad to see giving 
way to that more refined feeling which prefers a neat villa 
or cottage, tastily constructed, and surrounded by its proper 
accessories, of greater or less extent, of verdant trees and 
beautiful shrubbery. 

It is gratifying to see the progressive improvement in 
Rural Architecture, which within a few years past has 
evinced itself in various parts of the country, and par- 
ticularlv on the banks of the Hudson and Connecticut 




Fig. 58. Cottage Residence of Thomas W. Ludlow, Esq. near 
Tonlcer.=i, N. T. 




FiR. r.O. ResideDce- of Washington Irving, Esq. near Tarvyto-^n, N. Y 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 409 

Rivers, as well as in the suburbs of our largest cities. 
Here and there, beautiful villas and cottages in the Italian 
or old English styles, are being erected by proprietors who 
feel the pre-eminent beauty of these modes for domestic 
architecture. And from the rapidity with which improve- 
ments having just claims for public favor advance in our 
community, we have every reason to hope that our Rural 
Architecture will soon exhibit itself in a more attractive 
and agreeable form than it has hitherto generally assumed. 
We take pleasure in referring to a few of these buildings 
more in detail. 

The cottage of Thomas W. Ludlow, Esq., near Yonkers, 
on the Hudson (Fig. 58), is one of the most complete 
examples on this river. The interior is very carefully 
and harmoniously finished, the apartments are agreeably 
arranged, and the general effect of the exterior is varied 
and pleasing. 

There is scarcely a building or place more replete with 
interest in America, than the cottagei of Washington 
Irving, near Tarrytown (Fig. 59). The "Legend of 
Sleepy Hollow," so delightfully told in the Sketch-Book, 
has made every one acquainted with this neighborhood, 
and especially with the site of the present building, there 
celebrated as the " Van Tassel House," one of the most 
secluded and delightful nooks on the banks of the Hudson. 
With characteristic taste, Mr. Irving has chosen this spot, 
the haunt of his early days, since rendered classic ground 
by his elegant pen, and made it his permanent residence. 
The house of " Baltus Van Tassel" has been altered and 
rebuilt in a quaint style, partaking somewhat of the 
English cottage mode, but retaining strongly marked 
symptoms of its Dutch origin. The quaint old weather- 



410 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

cocks and finials, the crow-stepped gables, and the hall 
paved with Dutch tiles, are among the ancient and 
venerable ornaments of the houses of the original 
settlers of Manhattan, now almost extinct among us. 
There is also a quiet keeping in the cottage and the 
grounds around it, that assists in making up the charm 
of the whole ; the gently swelling slope reaching down 
to the water's edge, bordered by prettily wooded ravines 
through which a brook meanders pleasantly ; and thread- 
ed by foot-paths ingeniously contrived, so as sometimes 
to afford secluded walks, and at others to allow fine 
vistas of the broad expanse of river scenery. The 
cottage itself is now charmingly covered with ivy and 
climbing roses, and embosomed in thickets of shrubbery. 

Mr. Sheldon's residence (Fig, 60), in the same neigh- 
borhood, furnishes us with another example of the Rural 
Gothic mode, worth the study of the amateur. Captain 
Perry's spirited cottage, near Sing Sing, partakes of the 
same features ; and we might add numerous other cottages 
now building, or in contemplation, which show how fast 
the feeling for something more expressive and picturesque 
is making progress among us. 

Mr. Warren's residence at Troy, N. Y. (Fig. 61), is 
a very pretty example of the English cottage, elegantly 
finished internally as well as externally. A situation in 
a valley, embosomed with luxuriant trees, would have 
given this building a more appropriate and charming 
air than its present one, which, however, affords a 
magnificent prospect of the surrounding country. 

It is the common practice here to place a portion of 
what are called the domestic offices, as the kitchen, 
pantries, etc., in the basement story of the house, 




Fi?. GO^ Residence of H. Sheldon. Esq near Tarrytcwn, N. T. 




Fig. 61. Mr. "Warvfcn.s Cottage, near T.oy, K. Y. 



410 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 411 

directly beneath the hving rooms. This has partly 
arisen from the circumstance of the comparative economy 
of this method of constructing them under the same 
roof; and partly from the difficulty of adding wings to 
the main building for those purposes, which will not 
mar the simplicity and elegance of a Grecian villa. In 
the better class of houses in England, the domestic 
offices, which include the kitchen and its appurtenances, 
and also the stable, coach-house, harness-room, etc., are 
in the majority of cases attached to the main body of 
the building on one side. The great advantage of 
having all these conveniences on the same floor with 
the principal rooms, and communicating in such a way 
as to be easily accessible at all times without going into 
the open air, is undeniable. It must also be admitted that 
these domestic offices, extending out from the main 
building, partly visible and partly concealed by trees and 
foliage, add much to the extent and importance of a villa 
or mansion in the country. In the old English style these 
appendages are made to unite happily with the building, 
which is in itself iri-egular. Picturesque effect is certainly 
increased by thus extending the pile and increasing the 
variety of its outline. 

A blind partiality for any one style in building is detri- 
mental to the progress of improvement, both in taste and 
comfort. The variety of means, habits, and local feelings, 
will naturally cause many widely different tastes to arise 
among us ; and it is only by the means of a number of 
distinct styles, that this diversity of tastes can be accom- 
modated. There will always be a large class of individuals 
in every country who prefer a plain square house because 
it is more economical, and because they have little feeling 



412 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

for architectural, or, indeed, any other species of beauty. 
But besides such, there will always be found some men of 
finer natures, who have a sympathetic appreciation of the 
beautiful in nature and art. Among these, the classical 
scholar and gentleman may, from association and the love 
of antiquity, prefer a villa in the Grecian or Roman style. 
He who has a passionate love of pictures and especially 
fine landscapes, will perhaps, very naturally, prefer the 
modern Italian style for a country residence. The wealthy 
proprietor, either from the romantic and chivalrous asso- 
ciations connected with the baronial castle, or from desire 
to display his own resources, may indulge his fancy in 
erecting a castellated dwelling. The gentleman who 
wishes to realize the heau ideal of a genuine old English 
country residence, with its various internal comforts, and 
its spirited exterior, may establish himself in a Tudor villa 
or mansion ; and the lover of nature and rural life, who, 
with more limited means, takes equal interest in the beauty 
of his grounds or garden (however small) and his house — 
who is both an admirer of that kind of beauty called the 
picturesque, and has a lively perception of the effect of a 
happy adaptation of buildings to the landscape, — such a 
person will very naturally make choice of the rural cottage 
style. 



Entrance Lodges are not only handsome architectural 
objects in the scenery of country residences of large size, 
but are in many cases exceedingly convenient, both to the 
family and the guests or visitors having frequent ingress 
and egress. The entrance lodge may further be considered 
a matter sti'ictly useful, in serving as the dwelling of the 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 413 

gardener or farmer and his family. In this point of view, 
arrangements for the comfort and convenience of the 
inmates should be regarded as more important than the 
fanciful decoration of the exterior — as no exterior, however 
charming, can, to a reflective and well regulated mind, 
apologize for contracted apartments, and imperfect light 
and ventilation, in human habitations. 

Among the numerous entrance lodges which we remember 
to have seen in the Ignited States, we scarcely recall a single 
example where the means, or rather the facility, of opening 
and shutting the gate itself, has been sufficiently considered. 
Most generally the lodge is at too great a distance from the 
gate, consuming too mtich time in attendance, and exposing 
the persons attending, generally women or children, to the 
inclemencies of tiie weather. Besides this, service of this 
kind is less cheerfully performed in this country than in 
Europe, from the very simple reason of the greater equality 
of conditions here, and therefore everything which tends 
to lessen labor, is worthy of being taken into account. 

For these reasons we would place the gate very near the 
lodge ; it would be preferable if it were part of the same 
architectural composition : and if possible adopt the con- 
trivance now in use at some places abroad, by which the 
gate,^ being hung nearest the building, may be opened by 
the occupant without the latter being seen, or being 
scarcely obliged to leave his or her employment.* This 

* In Fig. 62, i3 shown the section of a gate arranged upon this plan. At 
the bottom of the hanging post of the gate, is a bevelled iron pinion, that works 
into another pinion, h, at the end of the horizontal shaft, a, which shaft is fixed 
in a square box or tunnel under the road. The part to the right of the partition 
line, /, is the interior of the gate-keeper's house ; and by turning the winch, e, 
the upright shaft, c, is put in motion, which moves by means of the bevelled 
pinions, g, d, the shaft a, and therefore, through d, the back post of the gate. 



414 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



is certainly the ultimatum of improvements in gate lodges ; 
and where it cannot be attained, something may still be 
done towards amelioration, by placing the gate within a 
convenient distance, instead of half a dozen rods apart 
from the lodge, as is frequently done. 

That the entrance lodge should correspond in style with 
the mansion, is a maxim insisted upon by all writers on 
Rural Architecture. Where the latter is built in a mixed 
style, there is more latitude allowed in the choice of forms 
for the lodge, which may be considered more as a thing by 
itself. But where the dwelling is a strictly architectural 
composition, the lodge should correspond in style, and bear 
evidence of emanating from the same mind. A variation 
of the same style may be adopted with pleasing effect, as a 




[Fig. 62. Plan for opening the gate from the interior of the Lodge.] 



lodge in the form of the old English cottage for a castellated 
mansion, or a Doric lodge for a Corinthian villa ; but never 
two distinct styles on the same place (a Gothic gate-house 
and a Grecian residence) without producing in minds 
imbued with correct principles a feeling of incongruity. 
A certain correspondence in size is also agreeable ; where 
the dwelling of the proprietor is simply an ornamental 

which is opened and shut by the motion of the winch, without obliging the 
inmates to leave the house. 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 



415 



cottage, the lodge, if introduced, should be more simple and 
unostentatious ; and even where the house is magnificent, 
the lodge should rather be below the general air of the 
residence than above it, that the stranger who enters at a 
showy and striking lodge may not be disappointed in the 
want of correspondence between it and the remaining 
portions of the demesne. 




[Fig. 63. The Xew Gate Locbe at Blithewood.] 

The gate-lodge at Blithewood, on the Hudson, the seat 
of R. Donaldson, Esq., is a simple and effective cottage in 
the bracketed style — octagonal in its form, and very com- 
pactly arranged internally. 

Nearly all the fine seats on the North river have entrance 
lodges — often simple and but little ornamented, or only 

pleasingly embowered in 
foliage ; but, occasional- 
ly, highly picturesque and 
striking in appearance. 

A view of the pretty 
gate lodge at Nether- 
wood, Duchess County 
N. Y., the seat of Gardi- 



f Pig. 64. The Gate Lodge at Netherwood.] 




416 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



ner Howland, Esq., is shown in Fig. 64. Half a mile 
north of this seat is an interesting lodge in the Swiss 
style, at the entrance to the residence of Mrs. Sheafe. 

In Fig. 65, is shown an elevation of a lodge in the Italian 
style, with projecting eaves supported by cantilevers or 
brackets, round-headed windov/s with balconies, character- 
istic porch, and other leading features of this style. 




[Fig. 65. Gate Lodge in the Italian style.] 



Mr. Repton has stated it as a principle in the composition 
of residences, that neither the house should be visible from 
the entrance nor the entrance from the house, if there be 
sufficient distance between them to make the approach 
through varied grounds, or a park, and not immediately 
into a court-yard. 

Entrance lodges, and indeed all small ornamental build- 
ings, should be supported, and partially concealed, by trees 
and foliage ; naked walls, in the country, hardly admitting 
of an apology in any case, but especially when the building 
is ornamental, and should be considered part of a whole, 
grouping with other objects in rural landscape. 



RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 



417 



Note. — To readers who desire to cultivate a taste for rural architecture, we 
take pleasure in recommending the following productions of the English press. 
Loudon's Encyclopadia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture, a volume 
replete with information on every branch of the subject ; Robinson's Rural 
Architecture and Designs for Ornamental Villas; Lugar's Villa Archi- 
tecture ; Goodwin's Rural Architecture ; Hunt's Picturesque Domestic 
Architecture, and Examples of Tudor Architecture ; Pugin's Examples of 
Gothic Architecture, Qic. The most successful American architects in this 
branch of the art, with whom we are acquainted, are Alexander J. Davis, Esq., 
of New York, and John Notman, Esq., of Philadelphia. 




[Fig. 66. The Gardener's House, Blithewood.] 



27 



418 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



SECTION X. 



EMBELLISHMENTS ; ARCHITECTURAL, RUSTIC, AND FLORAL. 

Value of a proper connexion between the house and grounds. Beauty of the architectural 
terrace, and its application to villas and cottages. Use of vases of different descriptions. 
Sun-dials. Architectural flower-garden. Irregular flower-garden. French flower-garden. 
English flower-garden. General remarks on this subject. Selection of showy plants, 
flowering in succession. Arrangement of the shrubbery, and selection of choice shrubs. 
The conservatory or green-house. Open and covered seats. Pavilions. Rustic seats. 
Prospect tower. Bridges. Rockwork. Fountains of various descriptions. Judicious 
introduction of decorations. 

Nature, assuming a more lovely face. 
Borrowing a beauty from the works of grace. 

COWPER. 



■ Each odorous bushy shrub 



Fenced up the verdant wall ; each beauteous flower ; 
Iris all hues, Roses and Jessamine 
Rear'd high their flourished heads between , 
And wrought Mosaic. 

Milton. 




N our finest places, or those 
country seats where much of 
the polish of pleasure ground 
or park scenery is kept up, one of the most striking defects 
is the want of " union between the house and the grounds." 



EMBELLISHMENTS. 419 

We are well aware that from the comparative rarity of any- 
thing like a highly kept place in this country, the want of 
this, which is indeed like the last finish to the residence, is 
scarcely felt at all. But this only proves the infant state 
of Landscape Gardening here, and the little attention that 
has been paid to the highest details of the art. 

If our readers will imagine, with us, a pretty villa, con- 
veniently arranged and well constructed, in short, complete 
in itself as regards its architecture, and at the same time, 
properly placed in a smooth well kept lawn, studded with 
groups and masses of fine trees, they will have an example 
often to be met with, of a place, in the graceful school of 
design, about which, however, there is felt to be a certain 
incongruity between the house, a highly artificial object, 
and the surrounding grounds, where the prevailing ex- 
pression in the latter is that of beautiful nature. 

Let us suppose, for further illustration, the same house 
and grounds with a few additions. The house now rising 
directly out of the green turf which encompasses it, we 
will surround by a raised platform or terrace, wide enough 
for a dry, firm walk, at all seasons ; on the top of the wall 
or border of this terrace, we will form a handsome parapet, 
or balustrade, some two or three feet high, the details of 
which shall be in good keeping with the house, whether 
Grecian or Gothic. On the coping of this parapet, if the 
house is in the classical style, we wall find suitable places, 
at proper intervals, for some handsome urns, vases, etc. 
On the drawing-room side of the house, that is, the side 
towards which the best room or rooms look, we will place 
the flower-garden, into which we descend from the terrace 
by a few steps. This flower-garden may be simply what 
its name denotes, a place exclusively devoted to the culti- 



420 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

vation of flowers, or (if the house is not in a very plain 
style, admitting of Uttle enrichment) it may be an archi- 
tectural flower-garden. In the latter case, intermingled 
with the flowers, are to be seen vases, fountains, and some- 
times even statues ; the effect of the fine colors and deep 
foliage of the former, heightened by contrast with the 
sculptured forms of the latter. 

If our readers will now step back a few rods with us and 
take a second view of our villa residence, with its 
supposed harmonizing accessories, we think they can hardly 
fail to be impressed at once with the great improvement 
of the whole. The eye now, instead of witnessing the 
sudden termination of the architecture at the base of the 
house, where the lawn commences as suddenly, will be at 
once struck with the increased variety and richness 
imparted to the whole scene, by the addition of the archi- 
tectural and garden decorations. The mind is led 
gradually down from the house, with its projecting porch 
or piazzas, to the surrounding terrace crowned with its 
beautiful vases, and from thence to the architectural 
flower-garden, interspersed with similar ornaments. The 
various play of light afforded by these sculptured forms on 
the terrace ; the projections and recesses of the parapet, 
with here and there some climbing plants luxuriantly 
enwreathing it, throwing out the mural objects in stronger 
relief, and connecting them pleasantly with the verdure of 
the turf beneath ; the still further rambling off of vases, 
etc., into the brilliant flower-garden, which, through these 
ornaments, maintains an avowed connexion with the 
architecture of the house; all this, we think it cannot be 
denied, forms a rich setting to the architecture, and unites 



EMBELLISHMENTS. 421 

agreeably the forms of surrounding nature with the more 
regular and uniform outlines of the building. 

The effect will not be less pleasing if viewed from 
another point of view, viz. the terrace, or from the apart- 
ments of the house itself From either of these points, the 
various objects enumerated, will form a rich foreground 
to the pleasure-grounds or park — a matter which painters 
well know how to estimate, as a landscape is incomplete 
and unsatisfactory to them, however beautiful the middle 
or distant points, unless there are some strongly marked 
objects in the foreground. In fine, the intervention of 
these elegant accompaniments to our houses prevents us, 
as Mr. Hope has observed, " from launching at once from 
the threshold of the symmetric mansion, in the most abrupt 
manner, into a scene wholly composed of the most 
unsymmetric and desultory forms of mere nature, which 
are totally out of character with the mansion, whatever 
may be its style of architecture and furnishing."* 

The highly decorated terrace, as we have here supposed 
it, would, it is evident, be in unison with villas of a some- 
what superior style ; or, in other words, the amount of 
enrichment bestowed upon exterior decoration near the 
house, should correspond to the style of art evinced in the 
exterior of the mansion itself An humble cottage with 
sculptured vases on its terrace and parapet, would be in 
bad taste ; but any Grecian, Roman, or Italian villa, where 
a moderate degree of exterior ornament is visible, or a 
Gothic villa of the better class, will allow the additional 
enrichment of the architectural terrace and its ornaments. 
Indeed the terrace itself, in so far as it denotes a raised dry 

* Essay on Ornamental Gardening, by Thomas Hope. 



422 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

platform around the house, is a suitable and appropriate 
appendage to every dwelling, of whatever class. 

The width of a terrace around a house may vary from 
five to twenty feet, or more, in proportion as the building 
is of greater or less importance. The surrounding wall, 
which supports its level, may also vary from one to eight 
feet. The terrace, in the better class of English residences, 
is paved with smooth flag stones, or in place of this, a sur- 
face of firm well-rolled gravel is substituted. In residences 
where a parapet or balustrade would be thought too 
expensive, a square stone or plinth is placed at the angles 
or four corners of the terrace, which serves as the pedestal 
for a vase or urn. When a more elegant and finished 
appearance is desirable, the parapet formed of open work 
of stone, or wood painted in imitation of stone, rises above 
the level of the terrace two or three feet with a suitably 
bold coping. On this vases may be placed, not only at the 
corners, but at regular intervals of ten, twenty, or more 
feet. We have alluded to the good effect of climbers, here 
and there planted, and suffered to intermingle their rich 
foliage with the open work of the parapet and its crowning 
ornaments. In the climate of Philadelphia, the Giant Ivy, 
with its thick sculpturesque looking masses of foliage, 
would be admirably suited to this purpose. Or the Vir- 
ginia Creeper (the Ivy of America) may take its place in 
any other portion of the Union. To these we may add, 
the Chinese twining Honeysuckle (Lonicera flexuosa) and 
the Sweet-scented Clematis, both deliciously fragrant in 
their blossoms, with many other fine climbers which will 
readily recur to the amateur. 

There can be no reason why the smallest cottage, if its 
occupant be a person of taste, should not have a terrace 



EMBELLISHMENTS. 423 

decorated in a suitable manner. Tiiis is easily and cheaply 
effected by placing neat flower-pots on the parapet, or 
border and angles of the terrace, with suitable plants grow- 
ing in them. For this purpose, the American or Century 
Aloe, a formal architectural-looking plant, is exceedingly 
well adapted, as it always preserves nearly the 
same appearance. Or in place of this, the 
Yuccas, or " Ada?ns needle and thread," 
"rnwrrjt which have something of the same character, 
' while they also produce beautiful heads of 





[i-ig. G7.] flowers, may be chosen. Yucca jlaccida is a 
fine hardy species, which would look well 
in such a situation. An aloe in a common 
flower pot is shown in Fig. 67 ; and a 
Yucca in an ornamental flower-pot in 
Fig. 68. CFigTos] 

Where there is a terrace ornamented with urns or vases, 
and the proprietor wishes to give a corresponding air of 
elegance to his grounds, vases, sundials, etc., may be placed 
in various appropriate situations, not only in the architec- 
tural flower-garden, but on the lawn, and through the 
pleasure-grounds in various different points near the house. 
We say near the house, because we think so highly arti- 
ficial and architectural an object as a sculptured vase, is 
never correctly introduced unless it appear in some way 
connected with buildings, or objects of a like architectural 
character. To place a beautiful vase in a distant part of 
the grounds, where there is no direct allusion to art, and 
where it is accompanied only by natural objects, as the 
overhanging trees and the sloping turf, is in a measure 
doing violence to our reason or taste, by bringing two 
objects so strongly contrasted, in direct union. But when 



424 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

we see a statue or a vase placed in any part of the grounds 
where a near view is obtained of the house (and its accom- 
panying statues or vases), the whole is accounted for, and 
we feel the distant vase to be only a part of, or rather a 
repetition of the same idea, — in other words, that it forms 
part of a whole, harmonious and consistent. 

Vases of real stone, as marble or granite, are decorations 
of too costly a kind ever to come into general use among 
us. Vases, however, of equally beautiful forms, are manu- 
factured of artificial stone, of fine pottery, or of cast iron, 
which have the same effect, and are of nearly equal dura- 
bility, as garden decorations. 

A vase should never, in the open air, be set down upon 
the ground or grass, without being placed upon a firm base 
of some description, either a plinth or a pedestal. Without 
a base of this kind it has a temporary look, as if it had been 
left there by mere accident, and without any intention of 
permanence. Placing it upon a pedestal, or square plinth 
(block of stone), gives it a character of art, at once more 
dignified and expressive of stability. Besides this, the 
pedestal in reality serves to preserve the vase in a perpen- 
dicular position, as well as to expose it fairly to the eye, 
which could not be the case were it put down, without any 
preparation, on the bare turf or gravel. 

Figure 69 is a Gothic, and Figures 70, 71, are 
Grecian vases, commonly manufactured in plaster 
in our cities, but which are also made of Roman 
cement. They are here shown upon suitable 
pedestals — a being the vase, and h the pedestal. 
/t^ These with many other elegant vases and urns are 
manufactured in an artificial stone, as durable as 

[Fig. 69.] 

marble, by Austin of London, and together with a great 




EMBELLISHMENTS. 



425 



variety of other beautiful sculpturesque decorations, may 
be imported at very reasonable prices. 

Figures 70, 71, are beautiful vases of pottery ware 
manufactured by Peake, of Staffordshire — and which may 
be imported cheaply, or will be made to order at the Sala- 
mander works, in New York. These vases, when colored 
L;A^b^b«LVL.»j>.^.»^^ to imitate marble or other stone, are ex- 
tremely durable and very ornamental. 
As yet, we are unable to refer our readers 
to any manufactory here, where these 
articles are made in a manner fully equal 
to the English ; but we are satisfied, it is 
only necessary that the taste for such 
articles should increase, and the conse- 
quent demand, to induce our artisans to 
produce them of equal beauty and of 




[Fig. 70.] 

greater cheapness. 

At Blithewood, the seat of R. Donaldson, Esq., on the 

Hudson, a number of exquisite vases may ^ 

be seen in the pleasure-grounds, which are 

cut in Maltese stone. These were imported 

by the proprietor, direct from Malta, at very 

moderate rates, and are not only ornamen- 
tal, but very durable. Their color is a 

warm shade of grey which harmonizes 
agreeably with the surround- 
ing vegetation. 



Large vases are sometimes 




[Fig. 71.] 



^V^^^) filled with earth and planted with choice flow- 
ering plants, and the effect of the blossoms and 
U}w>\ green leaves growing out of these handsome 
receptacles, is at least unique and striking 



426 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 




Loudon objects to it in the case of an elegant sculp- 
tured vase, "because it is reducing a work of art to the 
level of a mere garden flower-pot, and dividing the 
attention between the beauty of the form of the vase 
and of its sculptured ornaments^ and that of the plant 
which it contains." This criticism is a just one in its 
general application, especially when vases 
are considered as architectural decorations. 
Occasional deviations, however, may be per- 
mitted, for the sake of producing variety, 
especially in the case of vases used as deco- 
rations in the flower-garden. 

A very pretty and fanciful substitute for 
the sculptured vase, and which may take its 
place in the picturesque landscape, may be 
found in vases or baskets of rustic ivorJc, con- [Fig. 73.] 
structed of the branches and sections of trees with the 
bark attached. Figure 74 is a re- 
presentation of a pleasing rustic vase 
which we have constructed without 
^^ difficulty. A tripod of branches of trees 
forms the pedestal. An octagonal box 
serves as the body or frame of the vase ; 
on this, pieces of birch and hazel (small 
split limbs covered with the bark) are 
nailed closely, so as to form a sort of mosaic covering to the 
whole exterior. Ornaments of this kind, which may be 
made by the amateur with the assistance of a common 
carpenter, are very suitable for the decoration of the 
grounds and flower-gardens of cottages or picturesque 
villas. An endless variety of forms wiU occur to an 




2ft/: 



fFig. 74.] 



EMBELLISHMENTS. 427 

ingenious artist in rustic work, which he may call in to the 

embellishment of rural scenes, without taxing his purse 

heavily. 

Sundials (Fig. 75) are among the oldest decorations for 

the garden and grounds, and there are scarcely any which 
we think more suitable. They are not merely 
decorative, but have also an useful character, and 
y may therefore be occasionally placed in distant 
parts of the grounds, should a favorite walk ter- 
minate there. When we meet daily in our walks 
for a number of years, with, one of these silent 
monitors of the flight of time, we become in a 
degree attached to it, and really look upon it as 
gifted with a species of intelligence, beaming out 
when the sunbeams smile upon its dial-plate. 




«. 



|-pjg_ 75-] The Architectural Flower-garden, as we 

have just remarked, has generally a direct connexion with 
the house, at least on one side by the teiTace. It may be 
of greater or less size, from twenty feet square to half an 
acre in extent. The leading characteristics of this species 
of flower-garden, are the regular lines and forms employed 
in its beds and walks. The flowers are generally planted 
in beds in the form of circles, octagons, squares, etc., the 
centre of the garden being occupied by an elegant vase, a 
sundial, or that still finer ornament, a fountain, or jet d'eau. 
In various parts of the garden, along the principal walks, 
or in the centre of parterres, pedestals supporting vases, 
urns, or handsome flower-pots with plants, are placed. 
When a highly marked character of art is intended, a 
balustrade or parapet, resembling that of the terrace to 
which it is connected, is continued round the whole of 



428 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



this garden. Or in other cases the garden is surrounded 
by a thicket of shrubs and low trees, partly concealing it 
from the eye on all sides but one. 

It is evident that the architectural flower-garden is 
superior to the general flower-garden, as an appendage 
to the house, on two accounts. First, because, as we 
have already shown, it serves an admirable purpose 
in effecting a harmonious union between the house and the 
grounds. And secondly, because we have both the rich 
verdure and gay blossoms of the flowering plants, and the 
more permanent beauty of sculptured forms ; the latter 
heightening the eff'ect of the former by contrast, as well as 
by the relief they afford the eye in masses of light, amid 
surrounding verdure. 

There are several varieties of general flower-gardens, 
which may be formed near the house. Among these we 
will only notice the i7-}'egula7' ^ower-garden, the old French 
flower-garden, and the modern or English flower-garden. 

In almost all the different kinds of flower-gardens, two 
methods of forming the beds are observed. One is, to cut 
the beds out of the green turf, which is ever afterwards 




[Fig. 70. The Irregular Flower-garden.] 



EMBELLISHMENTS. 429 

kept well-mown or cut for the walks, and the edges pared ; 
the other, to surround the beds with edgings of verdure, as 
box, etc., or some more durable material, as tiles, or cut 
stone, the walks between being covered with gravel. The 
turf is certainly the most agreeable for walking upon in 
the heat of summer, and the dry part of the day ; while 
the gravelled flower-garden affords a dry footing at nearly 
all hours and seasons. 

The irregular flower-garden is surrounded by an irregu- 
lar belt of trees and ornamental shrubs of the choicest 
species, and the beds are varied in outline, as well as 
irregularly disposed, sometimes grouping together, some- 
times standing singly, but exhibiting no uniformity of 
arrangement. An idea of its general appearance may be 
gathered from the accompanying sketch (Fig. 76), which 
may be varied at pleasure. In it the irregular boundary 
of shrubs is shown at a, tiie flower-beds h, and the walks e. 

This kind of flower-garden would be a suitable accom- 
paniment to the house and grounds of an enthusiastic 
lover of the picturesque, whose residence is in the Rural 
Gothic style, and whose grounds are also eminently varied 
and picturesque. Or it might form a pretty termination 
to a distant walk in the pleasure-grounds, where it would 
be more necessary that the flower-garden should be in 
keeping with the surrounding plantations and scenery than 
with the house. 

Where the flower-garden is a spot set apart, of any 
regular outline, not of large size, and especially where it is 
attached directly to the house, we think the effect is most 
satisfactory when the beds or walks are laid out in sym- 
metrical forms. Our reasons for this are these : the 
flower-garden, unlike distant portions of the pleasure- 



430 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

ground scenery, is an appendage to the house, seen in the 
same view or moment with it, and therefore should exhibit 
something of the regularity which characterizes, in a 
greater or less degree, all architectural compositions ; and 
when a given scene is so small as to be embraced in a 
single glance of the eye, regular forms are found to be 
more satisfactory than irregular ones, which, on so small a 
scale, are apt to appear unmeaning. 

The French flower-garden is the most fanciful of the 
regular modes of laying out the area devoted to this purpose. 
The patterns or figures employed are often highly intricate, 
and require considerable skill in their formation. The 
walks are either of gravel or smoothly shaven turf, and the 
beds are filled with choice flowering plants. It is evident 
that much of the beauty of this kind of flower-garden, or 
indeed any other where the figures are regular and intri- 
cate, must depend on the outlines of the beds, or parterres 
of embroidery, as they are called, being kept distinct and 
clear. To do this effectually, low growing herbaceous 
plants or border flowers, perennials and annuals, should be 
chosen, such as will not exceed on an average, one or two 
feet in height. 

In the English flower-garden, the beds are either in 
symmetrical forms and figures, or they are characterized 
by irregular curved outlines. The peculiarity of these 
gardens, at present so fashionable in England, is, that each 
separate bed is planted with a single variety, or at most 
two varieties of flowers. Only the most striking and 
showy varieties are generally chosen, and the effect, when 
the selection is judicious, is highly brilliant. Each bed, in 
its season, presents a mass of blossoms, and the contrast of 
rich colors is much more striking than in any other 



EMBELLISHMENTS. 



431 



arrangement. No plants are admitted that are shy bloom- 
ers, or which have ugly habits of growth, meagre or starved 
foliage ; the aim being brilliant effect, rather than the 
display of a great variety of curious or rare plants. To 
bring this about more perfectly, and to have an elegant 
show during the whole season of growth, hyacinths and 
other fine bulbous roots occupy a certain portion of the 
beds, the intervals being filled with handsome herbaceous 
plants, permanently planted, or with flowering annuals and 
green-house plants renewed every season. 

To illustrate the mode of arranging the beds and disposing 
the plants in an English garden, we copy the plan and 
description of the elegant flower-garden, on the lawn at 
Dropmore, the beds being cut out of the smooth turf. 

" The flower-garden at Dropmore is shown in Fig. 77. 
In this the plants are so disposed, that when in flower the 
corresponding forms of the figure contain corresponding 
colored flowers. The following is a list of the plants which 
occupy this figure during summer, with the order in which 
they are disposed : and a corresponding enumeration of the 
bulbs and other plants which occupy the beds during winter 
and spring. 




[Fig. 77. The Flower-Garden at Dropmore.] 



432 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

In Summer. 

BeD9. 

1. Rosa Indica (blush China), bordered with R. Semperflorens Acre 

pleno, and R. Indica minor. 

2. Pelargonium inquinans (Scarlet Geranium). 

3. Verbena Lamberti. 

4. Senecio elegans, flore pleno. (Double Jacobea.) 

5. 5. Alonsoa incisifolia. 

6. 6. Agathea excelsis. 

7. Fuchsia coccinea (Lady's Eardrop), bordered with Double Prim- 

rose. 

8. Helitropium peruvianum. 

9. Ruellia formosa. 

10. Ageratum mexicanum. 

11. Dianthus chinensis (Indian Pink), and Mignonette. 

12. Lobelia splendens. 

13. Dianthus satifolius. 

14. Lobelia unidentata. 

15. 15. 15. Choice herbaceous plants not exceeding one foot six inches 

in height. 

16. 16. Gladiolus cardinalis. 

17. Pelargonium lateripis (pink-flowered variegated Ivy Geranium). 

18. Anagallis grandiflora. 

19. Anagallis MonelH. 

20. Pelargonium coruscans (Fiery-red Geranium.) 

21. Prince of Orange Geranium. 

22. CEnothera caespitosa. 

23. CEnothera missouriensis (Missouri evening Primrose). 

24. Scarlet flowered variegated leaved Geranium. 

25. Malope trifida. 

26. Lobelia fulgens. 

27. Petunia Phcenicea. 

28. Commelina caelestis. 

29. Cistus guttatus. 

30. Campanula pentagona. 

31. Four seasons Rose, and Mignonette. 

32. Bouvardia triphylla. 

33. Double Nasturtium. 

In Winter and Spring. 
Beds. 

1. Anemone Coronaria. 

2. 2. Malcomia maritinia (Mediterranean stock). 



EMBELLISHMENTS. 433 

Beds. 
3 and 4. Fine varieties of Tulips. 

5. 5. Double rocket Larkspur (sown in autumn). 

6. 6. Agathea caelestis. 

7. Scilla nutans (blue harebell). 

8. Feathered Hyacinths. 

9 and 10. Sweet scented Tulips. 

11. Double garden Tulips. 

12. Single gesneriana Tulips. 

13 and 14. Tritonia crocata, and Tritonia fenestra, kept in frames in 
mid-winter. 

15. 15. 15. 15. Choice herbaceous plants not exceeding one foot six 

inches in height. 

16. 16. Hyacinths, double blue, plunged in pots. 

17. Hyacinths, double red, do. 

18 and 19. Hyacinths, single blue variety. 
20 and 21. Single white Hyacinths. 
22 and 23. Crocus vernus and biflorus. 
24. Hyacinth?, double red. 
25 and 26. Tulips, double yellow. 

27. Hyacinths, double white. 

28. Muscari botryoides, (Grape Hyacinth). 

29. Oxalis caprina (kept in frames in mid-winter). 

30. Scilla vcma (Spring Harebell). 

31. Muscari racemosum, the border of Viola tricolor in sorts. 

32. Hyacinths, double white. 

33. Double rose Larkspur. 



" As a general principle for regulating the plants in this 

figure, the winter and spring flowers ought, as much as 

possible, to be of sorts which admit of being in the ground 

all the year : and the summer crop should be planted at 

intervals between the winter plants. Or the summer crop, 

having been brought forward in pots under glass, or by 

nightly protection, may be planted out about the middle of 

June, after the winter plants in pots are removed. A 

number of hardy bulbs ought to be potted and plunged in 

the beds in the months of October and November ; and 

when out of bloom, in May or June, removed to the reserve 

28 



434 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



garden and plunged there, in order to perfect their foliage 
and mature their bulbs for the succeeding season."* 

There cannot be a question that this method of planting 
the flower-garden in groups and masses, is productive of 
by far the most splendid effect. In England, where flower- 
gardens are carried to their greatest perfection, the pre- 
ference in planting is given to exotics which blossom 
constantly throughout the season, and which are kept in 
the green-house during winter, and turned out in the 
beds in the early part of the season, where they flower in 
the greatest profusion until frost ; as Fuchsias, Salvias, 



, Or -'-FV-vprt d^ f 




[Fig. 78, English Flovver-Garden.J 
* Ency. of Gardening, 1000. 



EMBELLISHMENTS. 435 

Lobelias, Scarlet Geraniums, etc., etc.* This mode can 
be adopted here where a small green-house or frame is 
kept. In the absence of these, nearly the same effect may 
be produced by choosing the most showy herbaceous plants, 
perennial and biennial, alternating them with hardy bulbs, 
and the finer species of annuals. 

In Fig. 78, we give an example of a small cottage or 
villa residence of one or two acres, where the flower-beds 
are disposed around the lawn in the English style : their 
forms irregular, with curved outlines, affording a great 
degree of variety in the appearance as viewed from differ- 
ent points on the lawn itself In this, the central portion 
is occupied by the lawn ; c, d, are the flower-beds, planted 
with showy' border-flowers, in separate masses; h, the 
conservatory. Surrounding the whole is a collection of 
choice shrubs and trees, the lowest near the walk, and those 
behind increasing in -altitude as they approach the boundary 
wall or fence. In this plan, as there is supposed to be no 
exterior view worth preserving, the amphitheatre of shrubs 
and trees completely shuts out all objects but the lawn and 
its decorations, which are rendered as elegant as possible. 

Where the proprietor of a country residence, or the 
ladies of a family, have a particular taste, it m^y be indulged 
at pleasure in other and different varieties of the flower- 
garden. With some families there is a taste for botany, 

* In many English residences, tiie flower-garden is maintained in never- 
fading brilliancy by almost daily supplies from what is termed the reserve, 
garden. This is a small garden out of sight, in which a great number of 
duplicates of the species in the flower-garden are grown in pots plunged in 
beds. As soon as a vacuum is made in the flower-garden by the fading of any 
flowers, the same are immediately removed and their places supplied by fresh 
plants just ready to bloom, from the pots in the reserve garden. This, which is 
the ultimatum of refinement in flower-gardening, has never, to our knowledge, 
been aUcmptcd in this country. 



436 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

when a small botanic flower-garden may be preferred — the 
herbaceous and other plants being gi'ouped or massed in 
beds after the Linncean, or the natural method. Some 
persons have an enthusiastic fondness for florist flowers, as 
Pansies, Carnations, Dahlias, Roses, etc. ; others for bulbous 
roots, all of which may very properly lead to particular 
modes of laying out flower-gardens. 

The desideratum, however, v/ith most persons is, to have 
a continued display of blossoms in the flower-garden from 
the opening of the crocus and snowdrop in the spring, 
until the autumnal frosts cut off" the last pale asters, or 
blacken the stems of the luxuriant dahlias in November. 
This may be don& with a very small catalogue of plants if 
they are properly selected : such as flower at different 
seasons, continue long time in bloom, and present fi^ne 
masses of flowers. On the other band, a very large num- 
ber of species may be assembled together; and owing to 
their being merely botanical rarities, and not bearing fine 
flowei's, or to their blossoming chiefly in a certain portion 
of the season, or continuing but a short period in bloom, 
the flower-garden ^vill often have but an insignificant 
appearance. With a group of Pansies and spring bulbs, a 
bed of ever-blooming China Roses, including the Isle de 
Bourbon varieties, some few Eschscholtzias, the showy 
Petunias, Gilias, and other annuals, and a dozen choice 
double Dahlias, and some trailing Verbenas, a limited spot, 
of a few yards in diameter, may be made productive of 
more enjoyment, so far as regards a continued display of 
flowers, than ten times that space, planted, as we often see 
flower-gardens here, with a heterogeneous mixture of 
everything the possesor can lay his hands on, or crowd 
within the inclosure. 



EMBELLISHMENTS, 487 

The mingled flower-garden, as it is termed, is by far the 
most common mode of arrangement in this country, though 
it is seldom well effected. The object in this is to dispose 
the plants in the beds in such a manner, that while there 
is no predominance of bloom in any one portion of the beds, 
there shall be a general admixture of colors and blossoms 
throughout the entire garden during the whole season of 
growth. 

To promote this, the more showy plants should be often 
repeated in different parts of the garden, or even the same 
parterre when large, the less beautiful sorts being suffered 
to occupy but moderate space. The smallest plants should 
be nearest the walk, those a little taller behind them, and 
the largest should be furthest from the eye, at the back of 
the border, when the latter is seen from one side only, or 
in the centre, if the bed be viewed from both sides. A 
neglect of this simple rule will not only give the beds, when 
the plants are full grown, a confused look, but the beauty 
of the humbler and more delicate plants will be lost amid 
the tall thick branches of sturdier plants, or removed so 
far from the spectator in the walks, as to be overlooked. 

Considerable experience is necessary to arrange even a 
moderate number of plants in accordance with these rules. 
To perform it successfully, some knowledge of the habits 
of the plants is an important requisite ; their height, time 
of flowering, and the colors of their blossoms. When a 
gardener, or an amateur, is perfectly informed on these 
points, he can take a given number of plants of different 
species, make a plan of the bed or all the beds of a flower- 
garden upon paper; and designate the particular situation 
of each species. 

To facilitate the arrangement of plants in this manner, 



438 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

we here subjoin a short list of the more showy perennial 
and annual hardy border flowers, such as are easily pro- 
cured here for the use of those who are novices in the art. 
and who wish to cultivate a taste for the subject. 

No. 1, Designates the first class, which grow from six to 
twelve inches in height. 

No. 2, Those which grow from one to two feet. 

No. 3, Those which are over two feet in height. 

Hardy Perennials. 

Flowering in April. 

Anemone thalictroides, pi. Double wood Anemone ; white. 

Anemone Pulsatilla. Pasque flower ; blue. 

Anemone hepatica, pi. Double Hepaticas ; blue. 

Viola odorata, pi. Double white and blue European violets. 

Omphalodes verna. Blue Venus Navelwort. 

Polemonium reptans. Greek Valerian ; blue. 

Phlox stolonifera. Creeping Phlox ; red. 

Phlox divaricata. Early purple Phlo.x. 

Pri7nula veris. The Cowslip ; yellow and red. 

Primula poly antha. The Polyanthus ; purple. 

Primula auricula. The Auricula ; purple. 

Viola tricolor. Heart's Ease or Pansy ; many colors and sorts. 

Viola grandiflora. Purple Pansy. 

Saxifraga crassifolia. Thick-leaved Saxifrage ; lilac. 

Phlox subulata. Moss pink Phlox. 

Phlox nivea. White Moss Pink. 

Gentiana acaulis. Dwarf Gentian ; purple. 

Adonis vernalis. Spring fl. Adonis ; yellow. 
2. Bodecatheon meadia. American Cowslip ; lilac. 
2. Pulmonaria virginica. Virginian Lungwort ; purple. 
2. Alyssum saxatile. Golden basket ; yellow. 
2. Trollius europeus. European Globe flower ; yellow. 

Corydalis cucularia. Breeches-flower ; white. 

May. 
1. Veronica gentianoides. Gentian leaved Speedwell ; blue. 



EMBELLISHMENTS. 439 

2. Veronica spicata. Blue spiked Speedwell. 

2. Pentstemon ovata. Oval leaved Pentstemon ; blue. 

2. Pentstemon atropurpureus. Dark purple Pentstemon. 

2. Orobus niger. Dark purple Vetch. 

1. Jeffcrsonia diphyUa. Five-leaved Jeffersonia ; white. 

1. Lysimachia nummularia. Trailing Loose-strife ; yellow. 

1. Convallaria majalis. Lily of the Valley ; white. 

1. Saponaria ocymoidcs. Basil-like Soapwort ; red. 

1. Phlox pilosa. Hairy Phlox ; red. 

2. Anchusa Italica. Italian Bugloss ; blue. 

2. Ranunculus acris, pi. Double Buttercups ; yellow. 

2. Tradcscantia virginica. Blue and white Spiderwort. 

2. Lupinus polyphyllus. Purple Lupin. 

2. Irissiberiaca. Siberian Iris; blue. 

3. Iris florentina. Florentine Iris ; white. 

3. Paonia tenuifolia. Small leaved Paeony ; red. 

3. Paonia albif era. Single white Paeony. 

2. Lupinus nootkaensis. Nootka Sound Lupin ; blue. 

2. Hesperis matronalis, alba, pi. The double wliite Rocket. 

2. Phlox suaveolens. The white Phlox or Lychnidea. 

2. Phlox maculata. The purple spotted Phlox. 

3. Heinerocallis Jlava. The yellow Day-Lily. 

2. Lupinus perennis and rivularis. Perennial Lupins ; blue. 

2. Lychnis Jlos cuculi, pi. Double ragged-Robin ; red. 

2. Papavcr orientalis. Oriental scarlet Poppy. 

2. Aquilegia canadensis. Wild Columbine ; scarlet. 

1. Houstonia carulea. Blue Houstonia. 

June. 

1. Spiraa filipendula, pi. Double Pride of the Meadow ; white. 

2. Spiraa lobata. Siberian Spirea ; red. 

2. Spiraa Ulmaria, pi. Double Meadow-sweet ; white. 

2. Delphinium grandiflorum, pi. Double dark blue Larkspur. 

2. Delphinium chinense, pi. Double Chinese Larkspur ; blue. 

2. Dianthus hortensis. Garden Pinks, many double sorts and colors. 

2. Caltha palustris, pi. Double marsh Marygold ; yellow. 

1. Cypripedium pubescens. Yellow Indian moccasin. 

2. Polemonium ccerulcum, and album. Common white and blue Greek 

Valerian. 

2. Campanula persicifolia, pi. Double peach-leaved Campanula ; 

white. 

2. Antirrhinum majus. Red and white Snapdragons. 



440 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

2. Geranium sanguine urn. Bloody Geranium ; red. 

1. Viscaria vulgaris, pi. White and red Viscaria. 

2. (Enothera fruticosa. Shrubby Evening Primrose ; yellow. 
1. Eschscholtzia californica. Golden Eschscholtzia ; yellow. 
1. Lychnis fulgens. Fulgent Lychnis ; red. 

1. Dianthus chinensis. Indian Pinks ; variegated. 

2. Dianthus caryophyllus. Carnation ; variegated. 
1. Verbena multijida. Cut-leaved Verbena ; purple. 

1. Verbena Lamberti. Lambert's Verbena ; purple. 

2. Campanula grandiflora. Large blue Bell-flower. 

3. Aconitum Napellus. Monkshood; purple. 

3. Aconitum Napellus, variegated. Purple and white Monkshood. 

3. Campanula ranunculoidcs. Nodding Bell-flower ; blue. 

2. Clematis integrifolia. Austrian blue Clematis. 

3. Verbascum phceniceum. Purple Mullein. 
3. Clematis erecta. Upright Clematis ; white. 
3. Linum perenne. Perennial Flax ; blue. 

3. PcBonia Humei. Double blush Paeony. 

3. Paonia fragrans. Double fragrant Poeony ; rose. 

3. PcBonia whitleji. Double white Paeony. 

3. Gaillardia aristata. Bristly Gaillardia ; yellow. 

2. Asphodelus ramosus. Branchy Asphodel ; white. 

2. Pentstemon speciosa. Showy Pentstemon ; blue. 

1. Iris Susana. Chalcedonian Iris ; mottled. 



July. 



2. Dictamnus Fraxinella. Purple Fraxinella. 

2. Dictamnus alba. White Fraxinella. 

1. Pentstemon Richardsonii. Richardson's Pentstemon ; purple. 

1. Pentstemon pubescens. Downy Pentstemon ; lilac. 

2. Anchusa officinalis. Common Bugloss ; blue. 

1. Campanula carpathica. Carpathian Bell-flower ; blue. 

2. Monarda didyma. Scarlet Balm. 

2. CEnothera Fraseri. Frasei-'s Evening Primrose ; yellow. 

2. CEnothera macrocarpa. Large podded Evening Primrose ; yellow. 

1. Sedum populifolium. Poplar leaved Sedum ; white. 

2. Campanula Trachelium. pi. Double white and blue Bell-flowers. 
1. Potentilla Russelliana. Russell's Cinquefoil ; red. 

I. Dianthus deltoides. Mountain Pink ; red. 

1. Veronica maritima. Maritime Speedwell ; blue. 

2. Delphinium speciosum. Showy Larkspur ; blue. 
2. Campanula macrantha. Large blue Bell-flower. 



EMBELLISHMENTS. 441 

3. Pejifstemon Digitalis. Missouri Pentstemon ; white. 

3. Hibiscus palustris. Swamp Hibiscus ; red. 

3. Lychnis Chalcedonica . Single and double scarlet Lychnis. 

2. Chetone Lyoni. Purple Chelone. 

2. Chelone barhata. Bearded Chelone ; orange. 

2. Dracocephalum grandiflorum. Dragon's Head \ purple. 

3. Lythrum latifolium. Perennial Pea ; purple. 

August. 

2. Catananche ccerulea. Blue Catananche. 

1. Corydalis formosa. Red Fumitory. 

1. Phlox carnea. Flesh colored Phlox. 

2. Asclcpias tuberosa. Orange Swallowwort. 
2. Veronica carnea. Flesh colored Speedwell. 
2. Ga\llardia bicolor. Orange Gaillardia. 

2. Hemerocallis japonica. Japan Day-Lily ; white. 

2. Dianthus superbus. Superb fringed Pink ; white. 

2. Lobelia cardinalis. Cardinal- flower ; red. 

1. Lychnis coronata. Chinese orange Lychnis. 

2. Lythrum salicaria. Willow Herb ; purple. 

3. Yucca filamentosa. Adam's Thread ; white. 

2. Yucca flaccida. Flaccid Yucca ; white. 

3. Phlox paniculata. Panicled Phlox ; purple and white. 

3. Campanula pyramidalis. Pyramidal Bell-flower ; blue and white 

2. Liatris squarrosa. Blazing Star ; blue. 

2. Epilobium spicatum. Purple spiked Epilobium. 

2. Coreopsis tenuifolia. Fine-leaved Coreopsis ; yellow. 

3. Cassia Marylandica. Maryland Cassia ; yellow. 

September ajtd October. 

2. Achillea Ptarmica, pi. Double Milfoil ; white. 

2. Coreopsis grandiflora. Large yellow Coreopsis. 

1. Aster linifolius. Fine-leaved Aster ; white. 

2. Eupatorium ctzlestinum. Azure blue Eupatorium. 

2. Phlox Wheeleriana. Wheeler's Phlox ; red. 

3. Aster macrophyUu-i. Broad-leaved Aster ; white. 

3. Eupatorium aromaticum. Fragrant Eupatorium ; white. 

3. Liatris elegans. Elegant Blazing Star ; purple. 

3. Liatris spicata and scariosa. Blue Blazing Stars. 

1. Gentiana saponaria. Soapwort Gentian ; blue. 

3. Aster norxB-anglim. New England Aster ; purple. 



442 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

3. Echinops retro. Globe Thistle. « 

3. Chrysanthemum indicum. Artemisias, many sorts and colors. 

The shrubbery is so generally situated in the neighbor- 
hood of the flower-garden and the house, that we, shall 
here offer a few remarks on its arrangement and distri- 
bution. 

A collection of flowering shrubs is so ornamental, that 
to a greater or less extent it is to be found in almost every 
residence of the most moderate size : the manner in which 
the shrubs are disposed, must necessarily depend in a great 
degree upon the size of the grounds, the use or enjoyment 
to be derived from them, and the prevailing character of 
the scenery. 

It is evident, on a moment's reflection, that shrubs being 
intrinsically more ornamental than trees, on account of the 
beauty and abundance of their flowers, they will generally 
be placed near and about the house, in order that their gay 
blossoms and fine fragrance may be more constantly 
enjoyed, than if they were scattered indiscriminately over 
the grounds. 

Where a place is limited in size, and the whole lawn and 
plantations partake of the pleasure-ground character, 
shrubs of all descriptions may be grouped with good effect, 
in the same manner as trees, throughout the grounds ; the 
finer and rarer species being disposed about the dwelling, 
and the more hardy and common sorts along the walks, 
and in groups, in different situations near the eye. 

When, however, the residence is of larger size, and the 
grounds have a park-like extent and character, the intro- 
duction of shrubs might interfere with the noble and 
dignified expression of lofty full grown trees, except 
perhaps they were planted here and there, among large 



EMBELLISHMENTS. 443 

groups, as underwood ; or if cattle or sheep were allowed 
to graze in the park, it would of course be impossible to 
preserve plantations of shrubs there. When this is the 
case, however, a portion near the house is divided from the 
park (by a wire fence or some inconspicuous barrier) for 
the pleasure-ground, where the shrubs are disposed in belts, 
groups, etc., as in the first case alluded to. 

There are two methods of grouping shrubs upon lawns 
which may separately be considered, in combination with 
beautiful and with picturesque scenery. 

In the first case, where the character of the scene, of 
the plantations of trees, etc., is that of polished beauty, the 
belts of shrubs may be arranged similar to herbaceous 
flowering plants, in arabesque beds, along the walks, as in 
Fig. 76, page 428. In this case, the shrubs alone, arranged 
with relation to their height, may occupy the beds ; or if 
preferred, shrubs and flowers may be intermingled. Those 
who have seen the shrubbery at Hyde Park, the residence 
of the late Dr. Hosack, which borders the walk leading 
from the mansion to the hot-houses, will be able to recall 
a fine example of this mode of mingling woody and 
herbaceous plants. The belts or borders occupied by the 
shrubbery and flower-garden there, are perhaps from 25 to 
35 feet in width, completely filled with a collection of 
shrubs and herbaceous plants ; the smallest of the latter 
being quite near the walk ; these succeeded by taller species 
receding from the front of the border, then follow shrubs 
of moderate size, advancing in height until the back- 
ground of the whole is a rich mass of tall shrubs and trees 
of moderate size. The effect of this belt on so large a 
scale, in high keeping, is remarkably striking and elegant. 

Where picturesque effect is the object aimed at in the 



444 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

pleasure-grounds, it may be attained in another way ; that 
is, by planting irregular groups of the most vigorous and 
thrifty growing shrubs in lawn, without placing them in 
regular dug beds or belts ; but instead of this, keeping the 
grass from growing and the soil somewhat loose, for a few 
inches round their stems (which will not be apparent at a 
short distance). In the case of many of the hardier shrubs, 
after they become well established, even this care will not 
be requisite, and the grass only will require to be kept short 
by clipping it when the lawn is mown. 

As in picturesque scenes everything depends upon 
grouping well, it will be found that shrubs may be employed 
with excellent effect in connecting single trees, or finishing 
a group composed of large trees, or giving fulness to groups 
of tall trees newly planted on a lawn, or effecting a union 
between buildings and ground. It is true that it requires 
something of an artist's feeling and perception of the pic- 
turesque to do these successfully, but the result is so much 
the more pleasing and satisfactory when it is well executed. 

When walks are continued from the house through dis- 
tant parts of the pleasure-grounds, groups of shrubs may be 
planted along their margins, here and there, with excellent 
effect. They do not shut out or obstruct the view like 
large trees, while they impart an interest to an otherwise 
tame and spiritless walk. Placed in the projecting bay, 
round which the walk curves so as to appear to be a reason 
for its taking that direction, they conceal also the portion 
of the walk in advance, and thus enhance the interest 
doubly. The neighborhood of rustic seats, or resting points, 
are also fit places for the assemblage of a group or groups 
of shrubs. 

For the use of those who require some guide in the 



EMBELLISHMENTS. 445 

selection of species, we subjoin the accompanying list of 
hardy and showy shrubs, which are at the same time easily 
procured in the United States. A great number of addi- 
tional species and varieties, and many more rare, might be 
enumerated, but such will be sufficiently familiar to the 
connoisseur already ; and what we have said respecting 
botanical rarities in flowering plants may be applied with 
equal force to shrubs, viz. that in order to produce a bril- 
liant effect, a few well chosen species, often repeated, are 
more effective than a great and ill-assorted melange. 

In the following list, the shrubs are divided into two 
classes — No. 1 designating those of medium size, or low 
growth, and No. 2, those which arc of the largest size. 

Flowering ix Apkil. 

1. Daphne mezereum, the Pink Mezoieum, D. M. album, the white 

Mezereuin. 

2. Shepkerdia argentea, the Bufialo berry ; yellow. 

1. Xaniliorhiza apiifolia, the parsley-leaved Yellow-root ; brown. 

1. Cydonia japonica, the Japan Quince ; scarlet. 

1. Cydonia japonica alba, the Japan Quince ; white. 

2. Amelanchier Botryapiiim, the snowy Medlar. 
1. Ribes aurcum, the Missouri Currant ; yellow. 

1. CoroniUn Einerus, the Scorpion Senna ; yellow. 

2. Magnolia conspicua, the Chinese chandelier Magnolia ; white. 

May. 

2. Crategus oxycantha, the scarlet Hawthorn. 

2. Crategus oxycantha, fl. plena, the double white Hawthorn. 

2. Chionanthus virginica, the white Fringe tree. 

1. Chionanthus latifolius, the broad-leaved Fringe tree ; white. 

1. Azalea, many fine varieties ; red, white, and yellow. 

1. Calycanthus foiida, the Swcet-sceniod-shnib ; brown. 

1. Magnolia purpurea, the Chinese purple Magnolia. 

2. Halesia tetrnptera, the silver Bell tree ; white. 

2. Syringa vulgaris, the common white and red Lilacs. 
1. &fringa pcrsica, the Persian Lilac : white and purple. 



446 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

1. Syringa persica laciniata, the Persian cut-leaved Lilac ; purple. 
1. Kerria or Corchorus japonica, the Japan Globe flower ; yellow. 
1. Lonicera tartar icn, the Tartarian upright Honeysuckles ; red and 

white. 
1. Philadelphus coronarius, the common Syringo, and the double 

Syringo ; white. 
1. Spircua hyperlci folia, the St. Stephen's wreath ; white. 
1. Spircea corijmhosa, the cluster flowering Spirea ; white. 
1. Ribes sanguineum, the scarlet flowering Currant. 
1. ^?nyg«?aZz<sp«?«i7«,pZ., the double dwarf Almond ; pink. 

1. Caragana Chamlagu, the Siberian Pea tree; yellow. 

2. Magnolia soulangeana., the Soulange Magnolia ; purple. 

1. PcBonia Moutan hanksia, and rosea, the Chinese tree Paeonias ; 

purple. 
1. Benthamia frugifera, the red berried Benthamia ; yellow. 



June. 



1. Amorpha fruticosa, the Indigo Shrub ; purple. 

2. Colutea arhorescens, the yellow Bladder-senna. 
1. Colutea cruenta, the red Bladder-senna. 

1. Cytisus capitatus, the cluster-flowered Cytisus ; yellow. 

1. Stuartia virginica, the white Stuartia. 

1. Cornus sanguinea, the bloody twig Dogwood ; white. 

1. Hydrangea quercifolia, the oak-leaved Hydrangea ; white. 

2. Philadelphus grandifiorus, the large flowering Syringo ; white. 
2. Vihurnu7n Opulus, the Snow-ball ; white. 

2. Magnolia glauca, the swamp Magnolia ; white. 

1. Rohinia hispida, the Rose-acacia 

July. 

1. Spiraa bella, the beautiful Spirea; red. 

2. Sophora japonica, the Japan Sophora ; white. 

2. Sophora japonica pendula, the weeping Sophora ; white. 

2. Rhus Cotinus, the Venetian Fringe tree ; yellow. (Brown tufts.) 

1. Ligustrum vulgare, the common Privet ; white. 

2. Cytisus Laburnum, the Laburnum ; yellow. 

2. Cytisus I. quercifolia, the oaked-leaved Laburnum ; white. 

L Cytisus purpureas, the purple Laburnum. 

1. Cytisus argenteus, the silvery Cytisus ; yellow. 

1. C^iisMS nigricans, the black rooted Cytisus; yellow. 

2. Kolreuteria paniculata, t'le Japan Kolreuteria ; yellow. 



EMBELLISHMENTS. 447 

August and September. 

1. Clethra alnifolia, the alJer-leaved Clethra ; white. 

1. Symphoria racemosa,thG Snowheny ; (in fruit) white. 

2. Hibiscus syriacus, the double purple, double white, double striped, 

double blue, and variegated leaved Altheas. 

1. Spiraa tomentosa, the tomento.se Spirea ; red. 

2. Magnolia glauba thompsoniana, the late flowering Magnolia ; 

white. 

1. Baccharis halimifolia, the Groundsel tree ; white tufts. 

2. Euonymus europceus, the European Strawberry tree (in fruit), red. 
2. Euonymus europceus alba, the European Strawberry tree ; the fruit 

white. 
2. Euonymus latifolius, the broad-leaved Strawberry tree ; red. 
1. Daphne mczercum autumnalis, the autumnal Mezereum. 

Besides the above, there are a great number of charming 
varieties of hardy roses, some of which may be grown in 
the common Avay on their own roots, and others grafted on 
stocks, two, three, or four feet high, as standards or tree- 
roses. The effect of the latter, if such varieties as George 
the Fourth, La Cerisette, Pallagi, or any of the new hybrid 
roses are grown as standards, is wonderfully brilliant when 
they are in full bloom. Perhaps the situation where they 
are displayed to the greatest advantage is, in the centre of 
small round, oval, or square beds in the flower-garden, 
where the remainder of the plants composing the bed are 
of dwarfish growth, so as not to hide the stem and head of 
the tree-roses. 

There are, unfortunately, but few evergreen shrubs that 
will endure the protracted cold of the winters of the north- 
ern states. The fine Hollies, Portugal Laurels, Laurusti- 
nuses, etc., which are the glory of English gardens in 
autumn and winter, are not hardy enough to endure the 
depressed temperature of ten degrees below zero. South 
of Philadelphia, these beautiful exotic evergreens may be 



448 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

acclimated with good success, and will add greatly to the 
interest of the shrubbery and grounds in winter. 

Besides the Balsam firs and the Spruce firs, the Arbor 
Vitae, and other evergreen trees which we have described 
in the previous pages of this volume, the following hardy 
species of evergreen shrubs may be introduced with 
advantage in the pleasure-ground groups, viz : — 

Ehododendron maximum, the American rose bay or big Laurel ; white 

and pink, several varieties (in shaded places). 
Kalmia latifolia, the common Laurel ; several colors. 
Juniperus suecia, the Swedish Juniper. 
Juniperus communis, the Irish Juniper. 
Buxus arborescens, the common Tree-box, the Gold striped Tree-box, 

and the Silver striped Tree-bo.K. 
Ilex opaca, the American Holly. 
Crategus pyracantha, the Evergreen Thorn. 
■ Mahonia aquifoliutn, the Holly leaved Berberry. 

The Conservato)'!/ or the Green-House is an elegant and 
delightful appendage to the villa or mansion, when there is 
a taste for plants among the different members of a family. 
Those who have not enjoyed it, can hardly imagine the 
pleasure afforded by a well-chosen collection of exotic 
plants, which, amid the genial warmth of an artificial 
climate, continue to put forth their lovely blossoms, and 
exhale their delicious perfumes, when all out-of-door nature 
is chill and desolate. The many hours of pleasant and 
healthy exercise and recreation afforded to the ladies of a 
family, where they take an interest themselves in the 
growth and vigor of the plants, are certainly no trifling 
considerations where the country residence is the place of 
habitation throughout the whole year. Often during the 
inclemency of our winter and spring months, there are 
days when either the excessive cold, or the disagreeable 



EMBELLISHMENTS. 449 

State of the weather, prevents in a great measure many 
persons, and especially females, from taking exercise in 
the open air. To such, the conservatory would be an 
almost endless source of enjoyment and amusement ; and 
if they are true amateurs, of active exertion also. The 
constant changes which daily growth and development 
bring about in vegetable forms, the interest we feel in the 
opening of a favorite cluster of buds, or the progress of the 
thrifty and luxuriant shoots of a rare plant, are such as 
serve most effectually to prevent an occupation of this 
nature from ever becoming monotonous or ennuyant. 

The difference between the green-house and conserva- 
tory is, that in the former, the plants are all kept in pots 
and arranged on stages, both to meet the eye agreeably, 
and for more convenient growth ; while in the conservatoi'y, 
the plants are grown in a bed or border of soil precisely as 
in the open air. 

When either of these plant habitations is to be attached 
to the house, the preference is greatly in favor of the 
conservatory. The plants being allowed more room, have 
richer and more luxuriant foliage, and grow and flower 
in a manner altogether superior to those in pots. Th^ 
allusion to nature is also more complete in the case of 
plants growing in the ground ; and from the objects all 
being on the same level, and easily accessible, they are 
with more facility kept in that perfect nicety and order 
which an elegant plant-house should always exhibit. 

On the other hand, the green-house will contain bv far 

the largest number of plants, and the same may be more 

easily changed or renewijd at any time ; so that for a 

particular taste, as that of a botanical amateur, who wishes 

to grow a great number of species in a small space, the 

29 



450 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

green-house will be found preferable. Whenever either 
the conservatory or green-house is of moderate size, and 
intended solely for private recreation, we would in every 
case, when such a thing is not impossible, have it attached 
to the house ; communicating by a glass door with the 
drawing-room, or one of the living rooms. Nothing can 
be more gratifying than a vista in winter through a glass 
door down the walk of a conservatory, bordered and 
overhung with the fine forms of tropical vegetation, 
golden oranges glowing through the dark green foliage, 
and gay corollas lighting up the branches of Camellias, 
and other floral favorites. Let us add the exulting song of 
a few Canaries, and the enchantment is complete. How 
much more refined and elevated is the taste which prefers 
such accessories to a dwelling, rather than costly furniture, 
or an extravagant display of plate ! 

The best and most economical form for a conservatory 
is a parallelogram — the deviation from a square being 
greater or less according to circumstances. When it is 
joined to the dwelling by one of its sides (in the case of 
the parallelogram form), the roof need only slope in one 
way, that is from the house. When one of the e7ids of the 
conservatory joins the dwelling, the roof should slope both 
ways from the centre. The advantage of the junction in 
the former case, is, that less outer surface of the conser- 
vatory being exposed to the cold, viz. only a side and two 
ends, less fuel will be required ; the advantage in the latter 
case is, that the main walk leading down the conserva- 
tory will be exactly in the line of the vista from the 
drawing-room of the dwelling. 

It is, we hope, almost unnecessary to state, that the roof 
of a conservatory, or indeed any other house where plants 



EMBELLISHMENTS. 451 

are to be well-grown, must be glazed. Opake roofs 
prevent the admission of perpendicular light, without 
which the stems of vegetation are drawn up weak and 
feeble, and are attracted in an unsightly manner towards 
the glass in front. When the conservatory joins the house 
by one of its ends, and extends out from the building to a 
considerable length, the effect will be much more elegant ; 
and the plants will thrive more perfectly, when it is glazed 
on all of the three sides, so as to admit light in every 
direction. 

The best aspect for a conservatory is directly south ; 
southeast and southwest are scarcely inferior. Even east 
and west exposures will do very well, where there is plenty 
of glass to admit light ; for though our winters are cold, 
yet there is a great abundance of sun, and bright clear 
atmosphere, both far more beneficial to plants than the 
moist, foggy vapor of an English winter, which, though 
mild, is comparatively sunless. When the conservatory 
adjoins and looks into the flower-garden, the effect will be 
appropriate and pleasing. 

Some few hints respecting the construction of a con- 
servatory may not be unacceptable to some of our readers. 
In the first place, the roof should have a. sufficient slope to 
carry off the rain rapidly, to prevent leakage ; from 40 to 
45 degrees is found to be the best inclination in our 
climate. The roof should by no means be glazed with 
large panes, because small ones have much greater 
strength, which is requisite to withstand the heavy 
weight of snow that often falls during winter, as well as 
to resist breakage by hail storms in summer. Four or 
eight inches by six, is the best size for roof-glass, and with 
this size the lap of the panes need not be greater than one- 



452 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

eighth of an inch, while it would require to be one-fourth 
of an inch, were the panes of the usual size. On the front 
and sides, the sashes may be handsome, and filled in with 
the best glass ; even plate glass has been used in many 
cases to our knowledge here. 

In the second place, some thorough provision must 
be made for warming the coflservatO'ry ; and it is by far the 
best mode to have the apparatus for this purpose entirely 
independent of the dwelling house ; that is (though the 
furnace may be in the basement), the flues and fire should 
be intended to heat the conservatory atone - for although 
a conservatory may, if small, be heated by the same fire 
which heats the kitchen or one of the living rooms, it is a 
much less eflicient mode of attaining this object, and 
renders the conservatory more or less liable at all times 
to be too hot or too cold. 

The common square flue, the sides built of bricks, and 
the top and bottom of tiles manufactured for that purpose, 
is one of the oldest, most simple, and least expensive 
methods of heating in use. Latterly, its place has been 
supplied by hot water circulated in large tubes of three 
or four inches in diameter from an open boiler, and by 
Perkins's mode as it is called, which employs small pipes 
of an inch in diameter, hermetically sealed. Economy 
of fuel and in the time requisite in attendance, are the 
chief merits of the hot water systems, which, however, 
have the great additional advantage of affording a more 
moist and genial temperature. 

In a green-house, the flues, or hot water pipes, may be 
concealed under the stage. In conservatories they should 
by all means be placed out of sight also. To effect this, 
they are generally conducted into a narrow, hollow 




P4 



EMBELLISHMENTS. 



453 



chamber, under the walk, which has perforated sides or a 
grated top, to permit the escape of heated air.* 




[Fig. 79. Villa at Brooklyn, N. Y., with the Conservatory attached.] 

One of the most beautiful conservatories attached to 
the dwelling, to which we can refer our readers, for an 
example, is one built by J. W. Perry, Esq., Brooklyn, near 
New York (Fig. 79), forming the left wing of this elegant 
villa. Among the most magnificent detached conserva- 
tories are those of J. P. Gushing, Esq., at his elegant seat, 
Belmont Place, Watertown, near Boston ; and that at 
Montgomery Place, the seat of Mrs. Edward Livingston, 
on the Hudson, Fig. 80. 

A conservatory is frequently made an addition to a 
rectangular Grecian villa, as one of its wings — the other 
being a living or bed-room. The more varied and 
irregular outline of Gothic buildings enables them to 
receive an appendage of this nature with more facility 
in almost any direction, where the aspect is suitable. 

* The circulation of warm air is greatly accelerated when an opening 
through the outer air is permitted to enter the hot air passage, thus beconuDg 
heated and passing into the conservatory. 



454 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

Whatever be the style of the architecture of the house, 
that of the conservatory should in every case conform 
to it, and evince a degi'ee of enrichment according with 
that of the main building. 

Though a conservatory is often made an expensive 
luxury, attached only to the better class of residences, there 
is no reason why cottages of more humble character 
should not have the same source of enjoyment on a more 
moderate scale. A small green-house, or plant cabinet, as 
it is sometimes called, eight or ten feet square, communi- 
cating with the parlor, and constructed in a simple style, 
may be erected and kept up in such a manner, as to be a 
source of much pleasure, for a comparatively trifling sum ; 
and we hope soon to see in this country, where the com- 
forts of life are more equally distributed than in any other, 
the taste for enjoyments of this kind extending itself with 
the means for realizing them, into every portion of the 
northern and middle States. 

Open and covered seats, of various descriptions, are 
among the most convenient and useful decorations for the 
pleasure-grounds of a country residence. Situated in por- 
tions of the lawn or park, somewhat distant from the 
house, they offer an agreeable place for rest or repose. If 
there are certain points from which are obtained agreeable 
prospects or extensive views of the surrounding country, a 
seat, by designating those points, and by affording us a 
convenient mode of enjoying them, has a double recom- 
mendation to our minds. 

Open and covered seats are of two distinct kinds ; one 
architectural, or formed after artist-like designs, of stone 
or wood, in Grecian, Gothic, or other forms ; which may, 
if they are intended to produce an elegant effect, have 



EMBELLISHMENTS. 455 

vases on pedestals as accompaniments ; the other, rustic, 
as they are called, which are formed out of trunks and 
branches of trees, roots, etc., in their natural forms. 

There are particular sites where each of these kinds of 
seats, or structures, is, in good taste, alone admissible. In 
the proximity of elegant and decorated buildings where all 
around has a polished air, it would evidently be doing 
violence to our feelings and sense of propriety to admit 
many rustic seats and structures of any kind ; but archi- 
tectural decorations and architectural seats are there 
correctly introduced. For the same reason, also, as we 
have already suggested, that the sculptured forms of vases, 
etc., would be out of keeping in scenes where nature is 
predominant (as the distant wooded parts or walks of a 
residence), architectural, or, in other words, highly arti- 
ficial seats, would not be in character : but rustic seats 
and structures, which, from the nature of the materials 
employed and the simple manner of their construction, 
appear but one remove from natural forms, are felt at once 
to be in unison with the surrounding objects. Again, the 
mural and highly artistical vase and statue, most properly 
accompany the beautiful landscape garden ; while rustic 
baskets, or vases, are the most fitting decorations of the 
Picturesque Landscape Garden. 

The simplest variety of covered architectural seat is the 
latticed arbor for vines of various descriptions, with the 
seat underneath the canopy of foliage ; this may with 
more propriety be introduced in various parts of the 
grounds than any other of its class, as the luxuriance and 
natural gracefulness" of the foliage which covers the arbor, 
in a great measure destroys or overpowers the expression 
of its original form. Lattice arbors, however, neatly 



456 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

formed of rough poles and posts, are much more pictu- 
resque and suitable for wilder portions of the scenery. 

The temple and the pavilion are highly 

finished forms of covered seats, which are 

-^^^^- occasionally introduced in splendid places, 

[Fig. 81.] -^vhere classic architecture prevails. There is 

a circular pavilion of this kind at the termination of one 

of the walks at Mr. Langdon's residence, Hyde Park. 

Fig. 81. 

We consider rustic seats and structures as likely to be 
much preferred in the villa and cottage residences of the 
country. They have the merit of being tasteful and pic- 
turesque in their appearance, and are easily constructed 
by the amateur, at comparatively little or no expense. 
There is scarcely a prettier or more 
J|Ui_ ^'_^ r pleasant object for the termination of a 
[FiT. 82.] I'^iig walk in the pleasure-grounds or park, 

than a neatly thatched structure of rustic work, with its 
seat for repose, and a view of the landscape beyond. On 
finding such an object, we are never tempted to think that 
there has been a lavish expenditure to serve a trifling 
purpose, but are gratified to see the exercise of taste and 
ingenuity, which completely answers the end in view. 

'^M Figure 82 is an example of a simple rustic 

seat formed of the crooked and curved branches 

of the oak, elm, or any other of our forest trees 

[Fig. 83.] Y[g 83 is a seat of the same character, made 

at the foot of a tree, whose overhanging branches aflford a 

fine shade. 

Figure 84 is a covered seat or rustic arbor, with a 
thatched roof of straw. Twelve posts are set securely in 
the ground, which make the frame of this structure, the 




EMBELLISHMENTS. 



457 







[1'.-. ^-IJ 
openings between being filled in with branches (about 
three inches in diameter) of different trees — the more 
irregular the better, so that the perpendicular surface of 
the exterior and interior is kept nearly equal. In lieu of 
thatch, the roof may be first tightly boarded, and then a 
covering of bark or the slabs of trees with the bark on, 
overlaid and nailed on. The figure represents the struc- 
ture as formed round a tree. For the sake of variety this 
might be omitted, the roof formed of an open lattice work 
of branches like the sides, and the whole covered by a 
grape, bignonia, or some other vine or creeper of luxuriant 
growth. The seats are in the interior. 

Figure 85 represents a covered seat of another kind. 
The central structure, which is circular, is 
intended for a collection of minerals, shells, 
or any other curious objects for which an 
amateur might have a penchant. Geo- 
logical or mineralogical specimens of the 
adjacent neighborhood, would be very proper for such a 
cabinet. The seat surrounds it on the outside, over which 
is a thatched roof or veranda, supported on I'ustic pillars 
formed of the trunks of saplings, with the bark attached. 




[Fig. 85.] 



458 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

Many of the English country places abound with 
admirable specimens of rustic work in their parks and 
pleasure-grounds. White Knight's, in particular, a resi- 
dence of the Duke of Marlborough, has a number of 
beautiful structures of this kind. Figure 86 is a view of a 




[Fig. 96. llustic Covered Seat.] 

round seat with thatched roof, in that demesne. Three or 
four rustic pillars support the architrave, and the whole of 
the exterior and interior (being first formed of frame- 
work) is covered with, straight branches of the maple and 
larch. The seat on the interior looks upon a fine prospect ; 
and the seat on the back of the exterior fronts the park. 

There is no limit to the variety of forms and patterns in 
which these rustic seats, arbors, summer-houses, etc., can 
be constructed by an artist of some fancy and ingenuity. 
After the frame- work of the structure is formed of posts 
and rough boards, if small straight rods about an inch in 
diameter, of hazel, white birch, maple, etc., are selected in 
sufficient quantity, they may be nailed on in squai'es, 
diamonds, medallions, or other patterns, and have the effect 
of a mosaic of wood. 

Among the curious results of this fancy for rustic work, •.-, 
we may mention the moss-lwuse — erected in several places ' 



EMBELLISHMENTS. 459 

abroad. The skeleton or frame- work of tlie arbor or house 
is formed as we have just stated ; over this small rods half 
an inch in diameter are nailed, about an inch from centre 
to centre ; after the whole surface is .covered with this sort 
of rustic lathing, a quantity of the softer wood-moss of 
different colors is collected ; and taking small parcels in 
the hand at a time, the tops being evenly arranged, the 
bottoms or roots are crowded closely between the rods with 
a small wooden wedge. When this is done with some 
little skill, the tufted ends spread out and cover the rods 
entirely, showing a smooth surface of mosses of different 
colors, which has an effect not unlike that of a thick 
Brussels carpet. 

The mosses retain their color for a great length of time, 
and when properly rammed in with the wedge, they cannot 
be pulled out again without breaking their tops. The 
prettiest example which we have seen of a handsome 
moss-house in this country, is at the residence of Wm. H. 
Aspinwall, Esq., on Staten Island. 

A -prospect tower is a most desirable and pleasant 
structure in certain residences. Where the view is com- 
paratively limited from the grounds, on account of their 
surface being level, or nearly so, it often happens that the 
spectator, by being raised some twenty-five or thirty feet 
above the surface, finds himself in a totally different 
position, whence a charming coup (Tail or bird's-eye view 
of the surrounding country is obtained. 

Those of our readers who may have visited the de- 
lightful garden and grounds of M. Parmentier, near 
Brooklyn, some half .a dozen years since, during the life- 
time of that amiable and zealous amateur of horticulture, 
will readily remember the rustic prospect-arbor, or tower. 



460 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 




TFig. 87.] 




Fig. 87, which was situated at the extre- 
mity of his place. It was one of the 
first pieces of rustic work of any size, 
and displaying any ingenuity, that we 
remember to have seen here ; and from 
its summit, though the garden walks afforded no prospect, 
a beautiful reach of the neighborhood for many miles was 
enjoyed. 

Figure 88 is a design for a rustic prospect tower of three 
stories in height, with a double thatched 
roof. It is formed of rustic pillars or columns, 
which are well fixed in the ground, and which 
are filled in with a fanciful lattice of rustic 
branches. A spiral staircase winds round 
[Fig. 88] the interior of the platform of the second 
and upper stories, where there are seats under the open 
thatched roof. 

On a feryne ornee, where the proprietor desires to give a 
picturesque appearance to the different appendages of the 
place, rustic work offers an easy and convenient method 
of attaining this end. The dairt/ "is sometimes made a 
detached building, and in this country it may be built of 
logs in a tasteful manner with a thatched roof; the interior 
being studded, lathed, and plastered in the usual way. Or 
the ice-house, which generally shows but a rough gable and 
ridge roof rising out of the ground, might be covered with 
a neat structure in rustic work, overgrown with vines, 
which would give it a pleasing or picturesque air, instead 
of leaving it, as at present, an unsightly object which we 
are anxious to conceal. 

A species of useful decoration, which is perhaps more 
naturally suggested than any other, is the bridge. Where 



EMBELLISHMENTS. 4GI 

a constant stream, of greater or less size, runs through the 
grounds, and divides the banks on opposite sides, a bridge 
of some description, if it is only a narrow plank over a 
rivulet, is highly necessary. In pieces of artificial water 
that are irregular in outline, a narrow strait is often pur- 
posely made, with the view of introducing a bridge for 
effect. 

When the stream is large and bold, a handsome archi- 
tectural bridge of stone or timber is by far the most suitable ; 
especially if the stream is near the house, or if it is crossed 
on the Approach road to the mansion ; because a character 
of permanence and solidity is requisite in such cases. But 
when it is only a winding rivulet or crystal brook, which 
meanders along beneath the shadow of tufts of clustering 
foliage of the pleasure-ground or park, a rustic bridge may 
::fSJf^\ be brought in with the happiest effect. 
Fig. 89 is a rustic bridge erected under 
our direction. The foundation is made 
[Fig. 89.J by laying down a few large square 

stones beneath the surface on both sides of the stream to 
be spanned ; upon these are. stretched two round posts or 
sleepers with the bark on, about eight or ten inches in 
diameter. The rustic hand-rail is framed into these two 
sleepers. The floor of the bridge is made by laying down 
small posts of equal size, about four or six inches in diame- 
ter, crosswise upon the sleepers, and nailing them down 
securely. The bark is allowed to remain on in every 
piece of wood employed in the construction of this little 
bridge ; and when the wood is cut at the proper season 
(durable kinds being, chosen), such a bridge, well made, 
will remain in excellent order for many years. 

Rockwork is another kind of decoration sometimes intro- 




462 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



duced in particular portions of the scenery of a residence, 
Fig. 90. When well executed, that is, so as to have a 
natural and harmonious expression, the effect is highly 
pleasing. We have seen, however, in places where a high 




[Fig. 90. Rockwork.J 



keeping and good taste otherwise prevailed, such a barba- 
rous melange, or confused pile of stones mingled with soil, 
and planted over with dwarfish plants dignified with the 
name of rockwbrk, that we have been led to believe that it is 
much better to attempt nothing of the kind, unless there is 
a suitable place for its display, and at the same time, the 
person attempting it is sufficiently an artist, imbued with 
the spirit of nature in her various compositions and com- 
binations, to be able to produce something higher than a 
caricature of her works. 

The object of rockwork is to produce in scenery or por- 
tions of a scene, naturally in a great measure destitute 
of groups of rocks and their accompanying drapery of 
plants and foliage, something of the picturesque effect which 
such natural assemblages confer. To succeed in this, it is 
evident that we must not heap up little hillocks of mould 



EiMBELLISHMENTS. 463 

and smooth stones, in the midst of an open lawn, or the 
centre of a flower-garden. But if we can make choice of 
a situation where a rocky bank or knoll already partially 
exists, or would be in keeping with the form of the ground 
and the character of the scene, then we may introduce 
such accompaniments with the best possible hope of 
success. 

It often happens in a place of considerable extent, that 
somewhere in conducting the walks through the grounds, 
we meet with a ridge with a small rocky face, or perhaps 
with a large rugged single rock, or a bank where rocky 
summits just protrude themselves through the surface. The 
common feeling against such uncouth objects, would direct 
them to be cleared away at once out of sight. But let us 
take the case of the large rugged rock, and commence our 
picturesque operations upon it. We will begin by collect- 
ing from some rocky hill or valley in the neighborhood of 
the estate, a sufficient quantity of rugged rocks, in size 
from a few pounds to half a ton or more, if necessary, pre- 
ferring always such as are already coated with mosses and 
lichens. These we will assemble around the base of a large 
rock, in an irregular somewhat pyramidal group, bedding 
ihcm sometimes partially, sometimes almost entirely in soil 
heaped in irregular piles around the rock. The rocks 
must be arranged in a natural manner, avoiding all regu- 
larity and appearance of formal art, but placing them 
sometimes in groups of half a dozen together, overhanging 
each other, and sometimes half bedded in the soil, and a 
little distance apart. There are no rules to be given for 
such operations, but the study of natural groups, of a 
character similar to that which we wish to produce, will 
afford sufficient hints if the artist is 



464 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

" Prodigue de genie," 

and has a perception of the natural beauty which he 
desires to imitate. 

The rockwork once formed, choice trailing, creeping, and 
alpine plants, such as delight naturally in similar situations, 
may be planted in the soil which fills the interstices between 
the rocks : when these grow to fill their proper places, 
partly concealing and adorning the rocks with their neat 
green foliage and pretty blossoms, the effect of the whole, 
if properly done, will be like some exquisite portion of a 
rocky bank in wild scenery, and will be found to give an 
air at once striking and picturesque to the little scene 
where it is situated. 

In small places where the grounds are extremely limited, 
and the owner wishes to form a rockwork for the growth 
of alpine and other similar plants, if there are no natural 
indications of a rocky surface, a rockwork may sometimes 
be introduced without violating good taste by preparing 
natural indications artificially, if we may use such a term. 
If a few of the rocks to be employed in the rockwork are 
sunk half or three-fourths their depth in the soil near the 
site of the proposed rockwork, so as to have the ap- 
pearance of a rocky ridge just cropping out, as the 
geologists say, then the rockwork will, to the eye of a 
spectator, seem to be connected with, and growing out of 
this rocky spur or ridge below : or, in other words, there 
will be an obvious reason for its being situated there, 
instead of its presenting a wholly artificial appearance. 

In a previous page, when treating of the banks of pieces 
of water formed by art, we endeavored to show how the 
natural appearance of such banks would bs improved by 
the judicious introduction of rocks partially imbedded into 



EMBELLISHMENTS. 465 

and holding them up. Such situations, in the case of a 
small lake or pond, or a brook, are admirable sites for rock- 
work. Where the materials of a suitable kind are 
abundant, and tasteful ingenuity is not wanting, surprising 
effects may be produced in a small space. Caves and 
grottoes, where ferns and mosses would thrive admirably 
with the gentle drip from the roof, might be made of the 
overarching rocks arranged so as to appear like small 
natural caverns. Let the exterior be partially planted with 
low shrubs and climbing plants, as the wild Clematis, and 
the effect of such bits of landscape could not but be 
agreeable in secluded portions of the grounds. 

In many parts of the country, the secondary blue 
limestone abounds, which, in the small masses found loose 
in the woods, covered with mosses and ferns, affords the 
very finest material for artificial rockwork.* 

After all, much the safest way is never to introduce 
rockwork of any description, unless we feel certain that it 
will have a good effect. When a place is naturally 
picturesque, and abounds here and there with rocky banks, 
etc., little should be done but to heighten and aid the 
expressions of these, if they are wanting in spirit, by 
adding something more ; or softening and giving elegance 
to the expression, if too wild, by planting the same with 



* Our readers may see an engraving and description of a superb extravaganza 
in rockwork in a late number of Loudon's Gardener's Magazine. Lady 
Broughton, of Hoole House, Chester, England, has succeeded in forming, 
round a natural valley, an imitation of the hills, glaciers, and scenery of a 
passage in Switzerland. The whole is done in rockwork, the snow-covered 
summits being repre?entcd in white spar. The appropriate plants, trees, and 
shrubs on a small scale, are introduced, and the illusion, to a spectator standing 
in the valley surrounded by these glaciers, is said to be wonderfully striking 
and complete. 

30 



466 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



beautiful shrubs and climbers. On a tame sandy level, 
where rocks of any kind are unknown, their introduction 
in rockworks, nine times in ten, is more likely to give rise 
to emotions of the ridiculous, than those of the sublime or 
picturesque. 

Fountains are highly elegant garden decorations, rarely 
seen in this country ; which is owii g, not so much, we 
apprehend, to any great cost incurred in putting them up, 
or any want of appreciation of their sparkh ig and 
enlivening effect in garden scenery, as to the fact thai, there 
are few artisans here, as abroad, whose business it is to 
construct and fit up architectural, and other jets d'eau. 

The first requisite, where a fountain is a desideratum, is 
a constant supply of water, either from a natural source 
or an artificial reservoir, some distance higher than the 
level of the surface whence the jet or fountain is to rise. 




[Fig. 91. Design for a Fountain.] 



Where there is a pond, or other body of water, on a higher 
level than the proposed fountain, it is only necessary to lay 
pipes under the surface to conduct the supply of water to 



EMBELLISHMENTS. 467 

the required spot ; but where there is no such head of water^ 
the latter must be provided from a reservoir artificially 
prepared, and kept constantly full. 

There are two very simple and cheap modes of effecting 
this, which we shall lay before our readers, and one or the 
other of which may be adopted in almost every locality. 
The first is to provide a large flat cistern of sufficient size, 
which is to be placed under the roof in the upper story of 
one of the outbuildings, the carriage-house for example, 
and receive its supplies from the water collected on the 
roof of the building ; the amount of water collected in this 
way from a roof of moderate size being much more than 
is generally supposed- The second is to sink a well of 
capacious size (where such is not already at command) 
in some j^art of the grounds where it will not be con- 
.spicuous, and over it to erect a small tower, the top of 
which shall contain a cistern and a small horizontal wind- 
mill ; which being kept in motion by the wind more or less 
almost every day in summer, will raise a sufficient quantity 
of water to keep the reservoir supplied from the well 
below. In either of these cases, it is only necessary to 
carry leaden pipes from the cistern (under the surface, 
below the reach of frost) to the place where the jet is to 
issue ; the supply in both these cases will, if properly 
arranged, be more than enough for the consumption of the 
fountain during the hours when it will be necessary for it 
to play, viz. from sunrise to evening. 

The steam-engine is often employed to force up water 
for the supply of fountains in many of the large public and 
royal gardens ; but there are few cases in this country 
where private expenditures of this kind would be justifiable. 

But where a small stream, or even the overflow of a 



468 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

perpetual spring, can be commanded, the Hydraulic Ram 
is the most perfect as well as the simplest and cheapest 
of all modes of raising water. A supply pipe of an inch 
in diameter is in many cases sufficient to work the Ram 
and force water to a great distance ; and where sufficient 
to fill a "driving pipe" of two inches diameter can be 
commanded, a large reservoir may be kept constantly 
filled. As the Hydraulic Ram is now for sale in all our 
cities we need not explain its action. 

" In conducting the water from the cistern or resei'voir 
to the jet or fountain, the following particulars require to 
be attended to : In the first place, all the pipes must be 
laid sufficiently deep in the earth, or otherwise placed and 
protected so as to prevent the possibility of their being 
reached by frost ; next, as a general rule, the diameter of 
the orifice from which the jet of water proceeds, tech- 
nically called the bore of the quill, ought to be four times 
less than the bore of the conduit pipe ; that is, the quill 
and the pipe ought to be in a quadruple proportion to 
each other. There are several sorts of quills or spouts, 
which throw the water up or down, into a variety of 
forms : such as fans, parasols, sheaves, showers, mushrooms, 
inverted bells, etc. The larger the conduit pipes are, the 
more freely will the jets display their different forms ; and 
the fewer the holes in the quill or jet (for sometimes this is 
pierced like the rose of a watering pot) the greater 
certainty there will be of the form continuing the same; 
because the risk of any of the holes choking up will be 
less. The diameter of a conduit pipe ought in no case 
to be less than one inch ; but for jets of veiy large size, 
the diameter ought to be two inches. Where the conduit 
pipes are of great length, say upwards of 1000 feet, it is 



EMBELLISHMENTS. 469 

found advantageous to begin, at the reservoir or cistern, 
with pipes of a diameter somewhat greater than those 
which deliver the water to the quills, because the water, in 
a pipe of uniform diameter of so great a length, is found 
to lose much of its strength, and become what is tech- 
nically called sleepy : while the different sizes quicken it, 
and redouble its force. For example, in a conduit pipe of 
1800 feet in length, the first six hundred feet may be laid 
with pipes of eight inches in diameter, the next 600 feet 
with pipes of six inches in diameter, and the last 600 feet 
with pipes of four inches in diameter. In conduits not 
exceeding 900 feet, the same diameter may be continued 
throughout. When several jets are to play in several 
fountains, or in the same, it is not necessary to lay a fresh 
pipe from each jet to the reservoir ; a main of sufficient 
size, with branch pipes to each jet, being all that is required. 
Where the conduit pipe enters the reservoir or cistern, it 
ought to be of increased diameter, and the grating placed 
over it to keep out leaves and other matters which might 
choke it up, ought to be semi-globular or conical ; so that 
the area of the number of holes in it may exceed the 
area of the orifice of the conduit pipe. The object is to 
prevent any diminution of pressure from the body of 
water in the cistern, and to facilitate the flow of the 
water. Where the conduit pipe joins the fountain, there, 
of course, ought to be a cock for turning the water off and 
on ; and particular care must be taken that as much water 
may pass through the oval hole of this cock as passes 
through the circular hole of the pipe. In conduit pipes, all 
elbows, bendings, and right angles should be avoided as 
much as possible, since they diminish the force of the 
water. In very long conduit pipes, air-holes formed by 



470 



LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



soldering on upright pieces of pipe, terminating in inverted 
valves or suckers, should be made at convenient distances, 
and protected by shafts built of stone or brick, and covered 
with movable gratings, in order to let out the air. Where 
pipes ascend and descend on very irregular surfaces, 
the strain on the lowest parts of the pipe is always the 
greatest ; unless care is taken to relieve this by the 
judicious disposition of cocks and air-holes. Without this 
precaution, pipes conducted over irregular surfaces will 
not last nearly so long as those conducted over a level." — 
Encycl. of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture, 
page 989. 

Where the reservoir is but a short distance, as from a 
dozen to fifty yards, all that is necessary is to lay the con- 
duit pipes on a regular uniform slope, to secure a steady 
uninterrupted flow of water. Owing to the friction in the 
pipes, and pressure of the atmosphere, the water in the 
fountain will of course, in no case, rise quite as high as the 
level of the water in the reservoir ; but it will nearly as 
high. For example, if the reservoir is ten feet four inches 
high, the water in the jet will only rise ten feet, and in like 
proportion for the different heights. The following table* 



Height of the 


Diameter 


of the 


Diameters of the 


Height the water 


Reservoir. 


Conduit 


pipes. 


Orifices. 


will rise to. 


Feet, t Inches. 


Inches. | 


Lines. 


Lines. | Parts. 


Feet. 1 Inches. 


5 1 





22 


4 


5 


10 4 





25 


5 


10 


15 9 


H 





6 


15 


21 4 


n 





6i 


20 


33 


3 





7 


30 


45 4 


^ 





7 8 


40 


58 4 


5 





8 10 


50 


72 


H 





10 12 


60 


86 4 


6 





12 14 


70 


100 


7 





12 15 


80 



* Switzer's Introduction to a General System of Hydrostatics. 




EMBELLISHMENTS. 471 

shows with a given height of reservoirs and diameter of 
conduit pipes and orifices, the height to which the water 
will rise in the fountain. 

A simple jet (Fig. 92) issuing from a circular basin of 
water, or a cluster of perpendicular jets (candelabra jets), 
is at once the simplest and most pleasing of 
fountains. Such are almost the only kinds 
of fountains which can be introduced with 
Ifi^^^^ propriety in simple scenes where the pre- 
dominant objects are sylvan, not architectural. 

Weeping, or Tazza Fountains, as they are called, are 

simple and highly pleasing objects, which require only a 

ii;^ i ^:Ttr*^T^Mlj^ very moderate supply of water com- 

!' ■^^^#^^^^['i'''i pared with that demanded by a 

J);' y' I'lJlJI'^^''. '! I'l |'K';|;i' constant and powerful iet. The 

i''- '''!'■ mm. '' '' ' ''■''-: ' 

' ' ' riii'i conduit pipe rises through and fills 

[Fig. wf^cwF^niuin.] the vasc, which is so formed as to 

overflow round its entire margin. Figure 93 represents a 

beautiful Grecian vase for tazza fountains. The ordinary 

jet and the tazza fountain may be combined in one, when 

the supply of water is sufficient, by carrying the conduit 

pipe to the level of the top of the vase, from which the 

water rises perpendicularly, then falls back into the vase 

and overflows as before. 

We might enumerate and figure a great many other 
designs for fountains ; but the connoisseur will receive 
more ample information on this head than we are able to 
afford, from the numerous French works devoted to this 
branch of Rural Embellishment. 

A species of rustic fountain which has a good effect, is 
made by introducing the conduit pipe or pipes among the 
groups of rockwoj'k alluded to, from whence (the orifice of 



472 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

the pipe being concealed or disguised) the water issues 
among the rocks either in the form of a cascade, a weep- 
ing fountain, or a perpendicular jet. A little basin of 
water is formed at the foot or in the midst of the rockwork ; 
and the cool moist atmosphere afforded by the trickling 
streams, would offer a most congenial site for aquatic 
plants, ferns, and mosses. 

Fountains of a highly artificial character are happily 
situated only when they are placed in the neighborhood of 
buildings and architectural forms. When only a single 
fountain can be maintained in a residence, the centre of 
the flower-garden, or the neighborhood of the piazza or 
terrace-walk, is, we think, much the most appropriate 
situation for it. There the liquid element, dancing and 
sparkling in the sunshine, is an agi'eeable feature in the 
scene, as viewed from the windows of the rooms ; and the 
falling watery spray diffusing coolness around is no less 
delightful in the surrounding stillness of a summer evening. 

After all that we have said respecting architectural and 
rustic decorations of the grounds, we must admit that it 
requires a great deal of good taste and judgment, to 
introduce and distribute them so as to be in good keeping 
with the scenery of country residences. A country resi- 
dence, where the house with a few tastefiil groups of 
flowers and shrubs, and a pretty lawn, with clusters and 
groups of luxuriant trees, are all in high keeping and 
evincing high order, is far more beautiful and pleasing 
than the same place, or even one of much larger extent, 
where a profusion of statues, vases, and fountains, or 
rockwork and rustic seats, are distributed throughout the 
garden and grounds, while the latter, in themselves, show 



EMBELLISHMENTS. 473 

slovenly keeping, and a crude and meagre knowledge of 
design in Landscape Gardening. 

Unity of expi-ession is the maxim and guide in this 
department of the art, as in every other. Decorations can 
never be introduced with good effiect, when they are at 
variance with the character of surrounding objects. A 
beautiful and highly architectural villa may, with the 
greatest propriety, receive the decorative accompaniments 
of elegant vases, sundials, or statues, should the proprietor 
choose to display his wealth and taste in this manner ; but 
these decorations would be totally misapplied in the case 
of a plain square edifice, evincing no architectural style in 
itself. 

In addition to this, there is great danger that a mere 
lover of fine vases may run into the error of assembling 
these objects indiscriminately in different parts of his 
grounds, where they have really no place, but interfere 
with the quiet character of surrounding nature. He may 
overload the gi'ounds with an unmeaning distribution of 
sculpturesque or artificial forms, instead of working up 
those parts where art predominates in such a manner, by 
means of appropriate decorations, as to heighten by con- 
trast the beauty of the whole adjacent landscape. 

With regard to pavilions, summer-houses, rustic seats, 
and garden edifices of like character, they should, if 
possible, .in all cases be introduced where they are 
manifestly appropriate or in harmony with the scene. 
Thus a grotto should not be formed in the side of an 
open bank, but in a, deep shadowy recess ; a classic 
temple or pavilion may crown a beautiful and prominent 
knoll, and a rustic covered seat may occupy a secluded, 



474 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 

quiet portion of the grounds, where undisturbed meditation 
may be enjoyed. As our favorite Dehlle says : 

" Sachez ce qui convient ou nuit au caractere. 
Un reduit ecarte, dans un lieu solitaire, 
Feint mieux la solitude encore et I'abandon. 
Montrez-vous done fidele a chaque expression ; 
N'allez pas au grand jour offrir un ermitage : 
Ne cachez point un temple au fond d'un bois sauvage." 

Les Jardins. 

Or if certain objects are unav^oidably placed in situations 
of inimical expression, the artist should labor to alter the 
character of the locality. How much this can be done by 
the proper choice of trees and shrubs, and the proper 
arrangement of plantations, those who have seen the 
difference in aspect of certain favorite localities of wild 
nature, as covered with wood, or as denuded by the axe, 
can well judge. And we hope the amateur, who has 
made himself familiar with the habits and peculiar 
expressions of different trees, as pointed out in this work, 
will not find himself at a loss to effect such changes, by 
the aid of time, with ease and facility. 



APPENDIX. 



Notes on transplanting trees. Reasons for frequent failures in renipving large trees. 
Directions for performing this operation. Selectioa of subjects. Prep.iring trees for 
removal. Transplanting evergreens. 

There is no subject on which the profossionul horticulturist is more 
frequently consulted in America, than transplanting trees. And, as it 
is an essential branch of Landscape Gardening — indeed, perhaps, the 
most important and necessary one to be practically understood in the 
improvement or embellishment of new country residences — we shall 
offer a few remarks here, with the hope of rendering it a more easy 
and successful practice in the hands of amateurs. 

Although there are great numbers of acres of beautiful woods and 
groves, the natural growth of the soil, in most of the older states, yet 
a considerable portion of our ordinary country seats are meagrely 
clothed with trees, while many beautiful sites for residences have, in 
past years, been so denuded that the nakedness of their appearance con- 
stitutes a serious objection to them as places of residence. To be able, 
therefore, to transplant, from natural copses, trees of ten or twenty 
years' growth, is so universally a desideratum, that great numbers of 
experiments are made annually with this view ; though few persons 
succeed in obtaining what they desire. Viz. the immediate effect of 
wood ; partly from a want of knowledge of the nature of vegetable 
phj'siology, and partly from malpractice in the operation of removal 
itself. 

When the admirably written "Planters Guide," by Sir Henry 



476 APPENDIX. 

Steuart, made its appearance some ten years ago, not only describing 
minutely the whole theory of transplanting nearly full grown trees, but 
placing before its readers a report of a committee of the Highland 
Society of Edinburgh attesting the complete success of the practice, 
as exemplified in the woods, copses, and groups, which, removed by 
the transplanting machine, beautified with their verdure and luxuriance 
the baronet's own park, the whole matter of transplanting was appa- 
rently cleared up, and numbers of individuals in this country, with san- 
guine hopes of success, set about the removal of large forest trees. 

Of the numerous trials made upon this method, with trees of extra 
size, we have known but a very few instances of even tolerable success. 
This is no doubt owing partly to the want of care and skill in the 
practical part of the process, but mainly to the ungenial nature of our 
climate. 

The climate of Scotland during four-fifths of the year is, in some 
respects, the exact opposite of that of the United States. An atmo- 
sphere which, for full nine months of the twelve, is copiously charged 
witli fogs, mist, and dampness, may undoubtedly be considered as the 
most fiivorable in the world for restoring the weakened or impaired 
vital action of large transplanted trees. In this country, on the con- 
trary, the dry atmosphere and constant evaporation under the brilliant 
sun of our summers, are most important obstacles with which the 
transplanter has to contend, and which render complete success so 
much more difficult here than in Scotland. And we would therefore 
rarely attempt in this country the extensive removal of trees larger than 
twenty feet in height. When of the size of fifteen feet they are suf- 
ficiently large to produce very considerable immediate effect, while they 
are not so large as to be costly or very difficult to remove, or to suffer 
greatly by the change of position, like older ones. 

The great want of success in transplanting trees of moderate size 
in this country arises, as we conceive, mainly from two causes ; the 
first, a want of skill in performing the operation, arising chiefly from 
ignorance of the nature of the vital action of plants, in roots, branches, 
etc., and the second, a bad or improper selection of subjects on which 
the operation is to be performed. Either of these causes would ac- 
count for bad success in removals ; and where, as is frequently the 



APPENDIX. 477 

case, both are combined, total failure can scarcely be a matter of sur- 
prise to those really familiar with the matter. 

An uninformed spectator, who should witness for the first time the 
removal of a forest tree, as ordinarily performed by many persons, 
would scarcely suppose that anything beyond mere physical sirenglk 
was required. Commencing as near the tree as possible, cutting off 
many of the roots, with the very smallest degree of reluctance, 
wrenching the remaining mass out of their bed as speedily and almost 
as roughly as possible, the operator hastens to complete his destructive 
process, by cutting off the best part of the head of the tree, to make 
it correspond with the reduced state of the roots. Arrived at the hole 
prepared for its reception, his replanting consists in shovelling in, while 
the tree is held upright, the surrounding soil, paying little or no regard 
to filling up all the small interstices among the roots ; and finally, after 
treading the earth as liard as possible, completing the whole by pouring 
two or three pails of water upon the top of the ground. How any 
reflecting person, who looks upon a plant as a delicately organized indi- 
vidual, can reasonably expect or hope for success after such treatment 
in transplanting, is what we never could fully understand. And it has 
always, therefore, appeared pretty evident that all such operators must 
have very crude and imperfect notions of vegetable physiology, or the 
structure and functions of plants. 

The first and most important consideration in transplanting should 
be the -preservation of the roots. By this we do not mean a certain bulk 
of the larger and more important ones only, but as far as possible all 
the numerous small fibres and rootlets so indispensably necessary in 
assisting the tree to recover from the shock of removal. The coarser 
and larger roots serve to secure the tree in its position, and convey the 
fluids ; but it is by means of the small fibrous roots, or the delicate and 
numerous points of these fibres called spongioles, that the food of 
plants is imbibed, and the destruction of such is manifestly in the 
highest degree fatal to the success of the transplanted tree. To avoid 
this as far as practicable, we should, in removing a tree, commence at 
such a distance as to include a circumference large enough to comprise 
the great majority of the roots. At that distance from the trunk we 
shall find most of the smaller roots, which should be carefully loosened 



478 APPENDIX. 

from the soil, with as little injury as possible ; the earth should be 
gently and gradually removed from the larger roots, as we proceed 
onward from the extremity of the circle to the centre, and when we 
reach the nucleus of roots surrounding the trunk, and fairly undermine 
the whole, we shall find ourselves in possession of a tree in such a per- 
fect condition, that even when of considerable size, we may confident- 
ly hope for a speedy recovery of its former luxuriance after being 
replanted. 

Now to remove a tree in this manner, requires not only a considera- 
ble degree of experience, which is only to be acquired by practice, but 
also much patience and perseverance while engaged in the work. It is 
not a difficult task to remove, in a careless manner, four or five trees in 
a day, of fifteen feet in height, by the assistance of three or four men, 
and proper implements of removal, while one or two trees only can be 
removed if the roots and branches are preserved entire or nearly so. 
Yet in the latter case, if the work be well performed, we shall have the 
satisfaction of beholding the subjects, when removed, soon taking fresh 
root, and becoming vigorous healthy trees, with fine luxuriant heads, 
while three-fourths of the former will most probably perish, and the 
remainder struggle for several years, under the loss of so large a por- 
tion of their roots and branches, before they entirely recover, and put 
on the appearance of handsome trees. 

When a tree is carelessly transplanted, and the roots much mutilated, 
the operator feels obliged to reduce the top accordingly ; as experience 
teaches him, that although the leaves may expand, yet they will soon 
perish without a fresh supply of food from the roots. But when the 
largest portion of the roots are carefully taken up with the tree, 
pruning should be less resorted to, and thus the original symmetry and 
beauty of the head retained. When this is the case, the leaves contri- 
bute as much, by their peculiar action in elaborating the ^ap, towards 
re-establishing the tree, as the roots ; and indeed the two act so re- 
ciprocally with each other, that any considerable injury to the one 
always affects the other. " The functions of respiration, perspiration, 
and digestion," says Professor Lindley, " which are the particular of- 
fices of leaves, are essential to the health of a plant ; its healthiness 
being in proportion to the degree in which these functions are duly 



APPENDIX. 479 

performed. The leaf is in reality a natural contrivance for exposing a 
large surface to the influence of external agents, by whose assistance 
the crude sap contained in the stem is altered, and rendered suitable to 
the particular wants of the species, and for returning into the general 
circulation, the fluids in their matured condition. In a word, the leaf 
of a plant is its lungs and stomach traversed by a system of veins."* 
All the pruning, therefore, that is necessary, when a tree is properly 
transplanted, will be comprised in paring smooth all bruises or acci- 
dental injuries, received by the roots or branches during the operation, 
or the removal of a few that may interfere with elegance of form in the 
head. 

Next in importance to the requisite care in performing the operation 
of transplanting, is the proper choice of individual trees to be transplanted. 
In making selections for removal among our fine forest trees, it should 
never be forgotten tliat there are two distinct kinds of subjects, even 
of the same species of every tree, viz. those that grow among and 
surrounded by other trees or woods, and those which grow alone, in 
free open exposures, where they are acted upon by the winds, storms, 
and sunshine, at all times and seasons. The former class it will always 
be e.\ceedingly difficult to transplant successfully even with the 
greatest care, while the latter may always be removed with compara- 
tively little ri>k of failure. 

Any one who is at all familiar with the growth of trees in woods or 
groves somewhat dense, is also aware of the great difference in the 
external appearance between such trees and those which stand singly 
in open spaces. In thick woods, trees are found to have tall, slender 
trunks, with comparatively few branches except at the top, smooth and 
thin bark, and they are scantily provided with roots, but especially with 
the small fibres so essentially necessary to insure the growth of the tree 
when transplanted. Those, on the other hand, which stand isolated, 
have short thick stems, numerous branches, thick bark, and great 
abundance of root and small fibres. The latter, accustomed to the 
full influence of the weather, to cold winds as well as open sunshine, 
have what Sir Henry Steuart has aptly denominated the " protecting 
properties" well developed ; being robust and hardy, they are well cal- 
* Theory of Horticulture. 



480 APPENDIX. 

culated to endure the violence of the removal, while trees growing in 
the midst of a wood sheltered from the tempests by their fellows, and 
scarcely ever receiving the sun and air freely except at their topmost 
branches, are too feeble to witlistand t^ie change of situation, when re- 
moved to an open lawn, even when they are carefully transplanted. 

" Of trees in open exposures," says Sir Henry, " we find that their 
peculiar properties contribute, in a remarkable manner, to their health 
and prosperity. In the first place, their shortness and greater girth of 
stem, in contradistinction to others in the interior of woods, are ob- 
viously intended to give to the former greater strength to resist the 
winds, and a shorter lever to act upon the roots. Secondly, their 
larger heads, with spreading branches, in consequence of the free ac- 
cess of light, are as plainly formed for the nourishment as well as the 
balancing of so large a trunk, and also for furnishing a cover to shield 
it from the elements. Thirdly, tlieir superior thickness and induration 
of bark is, in like manner, bestowed for tlie protection of the sap-ves- 
sels, that lie immediately under it, and which, without such defence 
from cold, could not perform their functions. Fourthly, their greater 
number and variety of roots arc for the double purpose of nourish- 
ment and strength ; nourishment to support a mass of such magnitude, 
and strength to contend with the fury of the blast. Such are the ob- 
vious purposes for which the unvarying characteristics of trees in open 
exposures are conferred upon them. Nor are they conferred equally 
and indiscriminately upon all trees so situated. They seem, by the 
economy of nature, to be jieculim- adaptations to the circumstances and 
wants of each individual, uniformly bestowed in the ratio of exposure, 
greater where that is more conspicuous, and uniformly decreasing, as it 
becomes less."* 

Trees in which the protecting properties are well developed are fre- 
quently to be met with on the skirts of woods ; but those standing singly 
here and there, through the cultivated fields and meadows of our farm 
lands, where the roots have extended themselves freely in the mellow 
soil, are the finest subjects for removal into the lawn, park, or pleasure 
ground. 

* The Planter's Guide, p. 105. 



APPENDIX. 481 

The machine used in removing trees of moderate size is of simple 
construction, consisting of a pair of strong wheels about five feet high, 
a stout axle, and a pole about twelve feet long. In transplanting, the 
wheels and axle are brought close to the trunk of the tree, the pole is 
firmly lashed to the stem, and when the soil is sufficiently removed and 
loosened about the roots, the pole, with the tree attached, is drawn 
down to a horizontal position by the aid of men and a pair of horses. 
When the tree is thus drawn out of the hole, it is well secured and 
properly balanced upon the machine, the horses are fastened in front 
of the mass of roots by gearings attached to the axle, and the whole 
is transported to the destined location. 

In order more effectually to insure the growth of large specimens 
when transplanted, a mode of preparing beforeliand a supply of young 
roots, is practised by skilful operators. This consists in removing the 
top soil, partially undermining the tree, and shortening back many of 
the roots ; and afterwards replacing the former soil by rich mould, or 
soil well manured. This is suffered to remain at least one year, and 
often three or four years ; the ti-ee, stimulated by tJie fresh supply of 
food, throws out an abundance of small fibres, which render success, 
when the time for removal arrives, compjiratively certain. 

It may be well to remark here, that before large trees are transplant- 
ed into their final situations, the latter should be well prepared by 
trenching, or digging (he soil two or three feet deep, intermingling 
throughout the whole a liberiU portion of well decomposed manure, or 
rich compost. To those who are in the habit of planting trees of any 
size in unprepared grounds, or tliat merely prepared by digging one 
spit deep, and turning in a little surface manure, it is inconceivable how 
much more rapid is the growth, and how astonishingly luxuriant the ap- 
pearance of trees when removed into ground properly prepai-ed. It is 
not too much to affirm, that young trees under favorable circumstances 
— in soil so prepared — will advance more rapidly, and attain a larger 
stature in eight years, than those planted in the ordinary way, without 
deepening the soil, will in twenty — and trees of larger size in propor- 
tion ; a gain of growth surely worth the trifling expense incurred in 
the first instance. And the same observation will apply to all plant- 

31 



482 APPENDIX. 

ing. A little extra labor and cost expended in preparing (lie soil will, 
for a long time, secure a surprising rapidity of growth. 

In the actual planting of the tree, the chief point lies in bringing 
every small fibre in contact with the soil, so that no hollows or inter- 
stices are left, wliich may produce mouldiness and decay of the roots. 
To avoid this, the soil must be pulverized with the spade before filling 
in, and one of the workmen, with his hands and a flat dibble of wood, 
should fill up all cavities, and lay out tlie small roots before covering 
them in their natural position. When watering is thought advisable 
(and we practise it almost invariably), it should always be done while 
the planting is going forward. Poured in the hole when the roots are 
just covered with the soil, it serves to settle the loose earth compactly 
around the various roots, and thus both furnislies a supply of moisture, 
and brings the pulverized mould in proper contact for growth. Trees 
well watered when planted in this way, will rarely require it after- 
wards; and should they do so, the better way is to remove two or 
three inches of the top soil, and give the lower stratum a copious sup- 
ply; when the water having been absorbed, the surface should again 
be replaced. There is no practice more mischievous to newly moved 
trees, than that of pouring water, during hot weather, upon the surface 
of the ground above the roots. Acted upon by the sun and wind, this 
surface becomes baked, and but little water reaches the roots ; or just 
sufficient, perhaps, to afford a momentary stimulus, to be followed by 
increased sensibility to the parching drought. 

With respect to the proper seasons for transplanting, we may remark 
that, except in extreme northern latitude, autumn planting is generally 
preferred for large, hardy, deciduous trees. It may commence as soon 
as the leaves Ml, and may be continued until winter. In planting large 
trees in spring, we should commence as early as possible, to give them 
the benefit of the April rains ; if it should be deferred to a later period, 
the trees will be likely to suffer greatly by the hot summer sun before 
they are well established. 

The transplanting of evergreens is generally considered so much more 
difficult than that of deciduous trees, and so many persons who have 
tolerable success in the latter, fail in the former, that we may perhaps 
be expected to point out the reason of these frequent failures. 



APPENDIX. 483 

Most of our horticultural maxims are derived from English authors 
and among them, that of always planting evergreens either in August 
or late in autumn. At both these seasons, it is nearly impossible to 
succeed in the temperate portions of the United States, from the dif- 
ferent character of our climate at these seasons. The genial moisture 
of the English climate renders transplanting comparatively easy at all 
seasons, but especially in winter, while in this country, our Augusts 
are dry and hot, and our winters generally dry and cold. If planted in 
the latter part of summer, evergreens become parched Si their foliage, 
and soon perish. If planted in autumn or early winter, the severe cold 
that ensues, to which the newly disturbed plant is peculiarly alive, 
paralyses vital action, and the tree is so much enfeebled that, when 
spring arrives, it survives but a short period. The only period, there- 
fore, that remains for the successful removal of evergreens here, is the 
spring. When planted as early as practicable in the spring, so as to 
have the full benefit of the abundant rains so beneficial to vegetation 
at that season, they will almost immediately protrude new shoots, and 
regain their former vigor. 

Evergreens are, in their roots, much more delicate and impatient of 
dryness than deciduous trees ; and this should be borne in mind while 
transplanting them. For this reason, experienced planters always 
choose a wet or misty day for their removal ; and, in dry weather, we 
would always recommend the roots to be kept watered and covered 
from the air by mats during transportation. When proper regard is 
paid to this point, and to judicious selection of the season, evergreens 
will not be found more difficult of removal than other trees. 

Another mode of transplanting large evergreens, which is very suc- 
cessfully practised among us, is that of removing them with frozen 
balls of earth in mid-winter. When skilfully performed, it is perhaps 
the most complete of all modes, and is so diflfcrent from the common 
method, that the objection we have just made to winter planting does 
not apply to this case. The trees to be removed are selected, the situa- 
tions chosen, and the holes dug, while the ground is yet open in autumn. 
When the ground is somewhat frozen, the operator proceeds to dig a 
trench around the tree at some distance, gradually undermining it, and 
leaving all the principal mass of roots embodied in the ball of earth. 



484 APPENDIX. 

The whole ball is then left to freeze pretty thoroug-hly (generally till 
snow covers the ground), when a large sled drawn by oxen is brought 
as near as possible, the ball of earth containing the tree rolled upon it, 
and the whole is easily transported to the hole previously prepared, 
where it is placed in the proper position, and as soon as the weather 
becomes mild, the earth is properly filled in around the ball. A tree, 
either evergreen or deciduous, may be transplanted in this way, so as 
scarcely to show, at the return of growth, any ill effects from its 
change of location. 



II. 

Descriptioii of an English Suburban residence, Cheshunt Cottage. With views and 
plans showing the arrangement of the house and grounds. And the mode of managing 
the whole premises. 

[The following description of an interesting suburban residence 
near London, with the numerous engravings illustrating it, has been 
kindly furnished us for this work, by J. C. Loudon, Esq. It was 
originally published in his " Gardener's Magazine," and affords an ad- 
mirable illustration of this class of residences, showing what may be 
done, and how much beauty and enjoyment realized, on a comparative- 
ly limited space of ground.] 

Cheshunt Cottage, the Residence of Wm. Harrison, Esq., 

F. L. S., ETC. 

" All that can render a country seat delightful, and a well furnished library in the house." 
(Evelyn's Memoirs, by Bray, vol, i., p. 432.) 

The sides of the road from London to Cheshunt, by Stoke Newing- 
ton, Edmonton, and Enfield Wash, are thickly studded with suburban 
houses and gardens the whole distance ; but, by going straight on 
through the Ball's Pond Turnpike, and taking the country road leading 
out of Newington Green, called the Green Lanes, between the Totten- 
ham and Edmonton road, and the Barnet Road, and threading our way 
through numerous interesting lanes, we may pass through very rural 
and umbrageous scenery, with the appearance of but few houses of 
any kind. Indeed, it may be mentioned as one of the most remarka- 



APPENDIX. 



485 



ble circumstances in tiie state of the country in the neighborhood of 
London, tijat, while all the main roads are bordered by houses for some 
miles from town, so as almost to resemble streets; there are tracts 
which lie between the main roads, and quite near town, which have 
undergone little or no change in the nature of their occupation for 





[Fig. 1. Clieshant Cottage, from the Road.] 

several, and apparently many, generations ; at all events, not since the 
days of Queen Elizabeth. The tracts of country to which we allude 
are in pasture or meadow, with crooked irregular hedges, numerous 
stiles and footpaths, and occasional houses by the roadsides ; the farms 
characterized by large hay barns. Scenery of this kind is never seen ' 
by the citizen who goes to his country seat along the public road, in 
his fomily carriage, or in a stage-coach ; and it is accordingly only known 
to pedestrians, and such as are not afraid of driving their horses over 
rough roads, or meeting wagons or hay-carts in narrow lanes. The 
road through the Green Lanes to Enfield is an excellent turnpike road, 
always in a good state, with occasional villas near Bour Farm and 
Palmer's Green; and near Enfield, at Forty Hiil, there is a handsome 
church, built and endowed by jMr. Myers, opposite to his park, which 
is filled with large and handsome trees. Afterwards it passes the cele- 
brated park of Theobalds, near where formerly stood a royal palace, 



486 APPENDIX. 

the favorite residence of James I., and winds in tlie most agreeable 
and picturesque manner, under the shade of overhanging trees. 
Having made several turns, it leads to a lane with a brook which runs 
parallel to the road, a foot-bridge across which forms the entrance to 
Mr. Harrison's cottage, as exhibited in the view Fig. 1. 

The ground occupied by Mr. Harrison's cottage and gardens is 
about seven acres, exclusive of two adjoining grass fields. The 
grounds lie entirely on one side of the house, as shown in the plan. 
Fig. 13, in pp. 510, 511. The surface of the whole is iiat, and nothing 
is seen in the horizon in any direction bvit distant trees. The beaiities 
of the place, to a stranger at his first glance, appear of the quiet and 
melancholy kind, as shown in the Figs. 2, 3; the one looking to the 
light from the drawing-room window and the other to the left : bat, 
upon a nearer examination by a pei-son conversant with the subjects of 
botany and gardening, and knowing in what rural comfoi't consists, 
these views will be found to be full of intense intesest, and to afford 
many instructive hints to the possessors of suburban villas or cottages. 

In building the house and laying out the grounds, Mr. Harrison was 
his own architect and Landscape Gardener; not only devising the 
general design, but furnishing working-drawings of all the details of 
the interior of the cottage. His reason for fixing on the present situa- 
tion for the house was, tlie vicinity (the grounds joining) of a house 
and walk belonging to a relation of his late wife. The circumstance 
is mentioned as accounting in one so fond of a garden, for fixing on a 
spot which had neither tree nor shrub in it when he firet inhabited it. 
Mr. Harrison informs us, and we record it for the use of amateurs 
commencing, or extending, or improving gardens, that he commenced 
his operations about thirty years ago, by purchasing, at a large nursery 
sale, large lots of evergreens, not six inches high, in beds of one 
hundred each, such as laurels, Portugal laurels, laurustinuses, bays, 
hollies, &c. ; with many lots of deciduous trees, in smaller numbers, 
which he planted in a nursery on bis own ground ; and at intervals, as 
he from time to time extended his garden, he took out every second 
plant, which, with occasional particular trees and shrubs from nursery 
grounds, constituted a continual supply for improvement and extension. 
This, with the hospital ground mentioned hereafter, furnished the 



APPENDIX. 



487 




1^ ' 



488 APPENDIX. 

means of extensions and improvements at no other expense than labor, 
which, when completed, gave the place the appearance of an old 
garden ; the plants being larger than could be obtained, or, if obtained, 
safely transplanted, from nurseries. This is an important considera- 
tion, ill addition to that of economy, well worth the attention of 
amateur improvers of grounds or gardens. 

By inspecting the plan. Fig 4, it will be found that tlie house con- 
tains, on the ground floor, three good living rooms, and two other 
rooms (n and g) particularly appropriate to the residence of an ama- 
teur fond of botany and gardening ; and that it is replete with every 
description of accommodation and convenience requisite for the enjoy- 
ment of all the comforts and luxuries that a man of taste can desire for 
himself or his friends. 

In laying out tlie grounds, the first object was to insure agricultural 
and gardening comforts; and hence the completeness of the farm-yard, 
and of the hot-house and frame departments, as exhibited in the plan. 
Fig. 6. On the side of the grounds opposite to the hot-houses and 
flower-garden are the kitchen-garden and oix-hard ; and though in most 
situations it would have been more convenient to have had the farm 
buildings, and kitchen garden, and hot-houses on the same side as the 
kitchen offices, yet in this case no inconvenience results from their 
separation; because the public road, as will be seen by the plan. Fig. 
13, forms a ready medium of communication between them, in cases in 
which the communication through the ornamented ground would be 
unsightly or inconvenient. In arranging the pleasure-ground, the 
great object, as in all similar cases, was to introduce as much variety 
as could be conveniently done in a comparatively limited space. This 
has been effected chiefly by distributing over the lawn a collection of 
trees and shrubs ; by forming a small piece of water, and disposing of 
tlie earth excavated into hilly inequalities; and by \valks leading to 
difTcrent points of view, indicated by different kinds of covered seats or 
garden structures. In conducting the walks, and distributing the trees 
and shrubs, considerable skill and taste have been displayed in conceal- 
ing tlie distant walks, and those which cross the lawn in different 
directions, from the windows of the living-rooms ;' and also in never 
showing any walk but the one which is being walked on, to a spectator 
making the circuit of the grounds. 



APPENDIX. 



489 



......fliniViVi'llillt 





490 



APPENDIX. 




APPENDIX. 491 

Before we enter into further details, we shall describe, first, the plan 
of the house ; secondly, that of the farm and garden offices and the hot- 
houses ; and, thirdly, the general plan of the grounds. 

The house, in its external form and interior arrangement, is to be 
considered as a cottage, or rather as a villa assuming a cottage charac- 
ter. Hence, the centre part of the house, over the dining and drawing- 
rooms, appears from the elevation of the entrance front to be only two 
stories high. There is, however, a concealed story over part of the 
offices, for servants' bedrooms. 

The house, of which Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan, consists of: 
a, The porch, entered from a bridge thrown across the brook, 4, as 

shown in Fig. 4. 
b h, Passage from which are seen the stairs to the bedrooms; and in 
which, at ii, there is a jib-door and a ventilating window, to prevent 
the possibility of the smell from the kitciien or offices, or water- 
closet, penetrating to the other parts of the passage. 

c, Recess for coats, hats, &c., fitted up with a hat and umbrella-stand, 
tables, &c. 

d. Drawing-room, with a recess at the further end, fitted up with a sofa 
and a writing-table. 

e. Dining-room, with a recess for the largest sideboard, and another for 
a smaller sideboard and cellarets. 

f, Library, chiefly lighted from tlie roof, but having one window to the 
garden, and a glass door to the porch, h, also looking into the garden, 
and from which the view. Fig. 5, is obtained. This room is fitted up 
with book-cases ail round ; those on each side of the fire-place being 
over large cabinets, about 4 ft. 6 in. high, filled with a collection of 
shells, minerabs, and organic remains, &c. ; and, to save the space 
that would otherwise be lost at the angles, pentagonal closets are 
formed there, in which maps, and various articles that cannot be 
conveniently put on the regular book-shelves, are kept. The doors 
to these corner closets are not more than 9 in. in width, and they are 
of panelled wainscot. The shelves are fitted in front with mahogany 
double reeds, fixing the cloth which protects the tops of the books, 
thus giving the appearance of mahogany. 

g', Museum for specimens of minerals and other curiosities, entered 



492 



APPENDIX. 




[Fig. 5 View from the Library Porch.] 

from the porch, h, and lighted from that porch and from a window iii 
the roof. 

?!, Porch leading to the garden from the library and musenm. 

i, Ladies' water-closet kept warm by the heat from the back of the 
servants' hall fire ; the back of the fire-place being a cast iron plate. 
ii, Jib-door, k, Plate-closet. 

I, Butler's pantry, lighted from the roof. 

m, China-closet, lighted from the roof. 

n, Room serving as a passage between the dining-room and the garden 
and also between the dining-room and the water-closet ?', containing 
a turning-lathe,~ a carpenter's work bench, a complete set of 
carpenters' tools, garden tools for pruning, &c., of all sorts ; spuds 
with handles, graduated with feet and inches, fishing tackle, archery 
articles, &c. 

0, Inner wine-cellar, where the principal stock of wine is kept. There 
is a ventilating opening from this cellar into the passage b. 

p, Servants' hall. 

q, Outer wine-cellar, where the wine given out weekly for use is placed, 
and entered in the butler's book. Between q and the passage b, are 
seen the stairs leading to the servants' bedrooms, r, Beer-cellar. 



APPENDIX. 493 

s, Kitchen, lighted from the roof, and from a window on one side. 

ss, Scullery, lighted from one side, t. Housekeeper's closet, m, Coal- 
cellar, r. Larder, it-, Bottle rack, x, Safe for cold meat, y, Wash- 
house. 

z. Knife-house, dj; Filtering apparatus. 1, Ash-pit. 2, Coal-house. 

3, Fire-place to the vinery at 10, in the kitchen-garden 9. 

4 4, Brook. 5 5, Public road. 6, Kitchen-court. 

7, Concealed path to gentlemen's water-closet. 

8, Plantation of evergreens. 9, Kitchen-garden. 
10, Vinery. 11, House servants' water-closet. 
12, Servants' entrance. 

Though it cannot be said that the arrangement of the offices of this 
house is so good as it would be if they were placed on each side of a 
straight passage ; yet it will not be denied that tiiese offices include 
everything that is desirable for comfort and even luxury. The chief 
difficulty which occurs to a stranger, in looking at the plan, is, to dis- 
cover how several of the rooms wliich compose the offices are lighted; 
and this, it may be necessary to state, is chiefly effi.'cted from the roof; 
a mode which, in the case cf some rooms, such as a butler's pantry, 
china-closet, plate-room, &c., is to be preferred ; but which in most 
cases it is desirable to avoid. 

The three windows to the three principal rooms being on the same 
side of the house, and adjoining each other, must necessarily have a 
sameness of view; but the quiet character intended to be produced by 
the idea of a cottage by a road side, may be supposed to account for 
circumstances of this kind, and for various others. 

The following are the details of the farmyard, garden offices, and 
hot-houses, as exhibited in Fig. 6 : — 

1, Rustic alcove, forming a recess under a thatched roof, which covers 
the space from the green-house, 3, to the houses or yards, 70, 71, and 
72. This rustic alcove has the floor paved with small pebbles, and 
the sides and ceiling lined with young fir-wood, with the bark on. 
There is a disguised door on the right, which leads to 69, a house 
for grinding-mills and other machines ; and on the left, which leads 
to 2, the ship-room. In the upper part of the central compartment, 
in a square recess fronting the entrance, is a white marble statue of 



494 



APPENDIX. 




7-i -„, 






[Fig. C] 



APPENDIX. 



495 




[Fig. C] 



496 APPENDIX. 

the Indian god Gaudama, or Gaudmia. Three Elizabethan benches, 
each as long as one of the sides of the alcove, are placed so as to 
disguise the doors. The external appearance of this alcove is 
shown in Fig. 7. 

2, Ship-room, paved with slate, and with the walls finished in stucco, 
and ceiling with beams painted like oak, to which are hung Indian 
spears, and other curiosities, and serving to contain models of ships 
and vessels of various sorts during winter. These are placed on 
the pond in the summer season ; square-rigged vessels at fixed 
anchorage, and the fore-arid-aft-rigged ones, whose sails traverse, 
such as schooners, cutters, and coasting vessels, with cables of 
lengths to allow of their sailing without touching the edge of the 
pond ; and these continue constantly traversing the pond when there 
is any wind. This room also contains a variety of the warlike 
instruments of the savages of different countries, a bust of Lord 
Nelson, one of the Duke of Wellington, some pictures in mosaic, 
and a number of East Indian curiosities. '. Jt serves also as a lobby 
to the orangery. ,A^ 

3, The orangery. The paths are of slate, and the centre bed, or pit, 
for the orange trees, is covered with an open wooden grating, on 
which are i^laced the smaller pots ; while the larger ones, and the 
boxes and tubs, are let dov/n through openings made in the grating, 
as deep as it may be necessary for the proper effect of the heads 
of the trees. This house, and that for Orchidacese, are heated from 
the boiler indicated at 61. 

4, Orchidaceous and fern house, in which a is the stage for Orchida- 
ceae, and b a cone of rockwork, chiefly of vitrified bricks, for ferns. 
These ferns, amounting to above two dozen species, all sprang up 
accidentally from the soil attached to some plants which were sent 
to Mr. Harrison from Rio Janeiro and other parts of South America. 
The shelves round the house are also occupied with Orchiduceas, all 
of which are in pots, in order that, when they come into flower, 
they may be removed to the green-house; as, when thus treated, as 
practised by the Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth, they continue 
much longer in bloom than when kept in the degree of heat 
necessary for their growth. 



APPENDIX. 497 

4 c, Lobby between the orangery (3) and the conservatory (5). 

4 d, An aviary for canaries, separated from the conservatory and the 
lobby by a wire grating, and from the orchidaceous house by a wall. 
Both the aviary and the lobby have a glass roof in the same plane 
as that of the conservatory, as may be seen in Fig. 8, in p. 499. In 
the winter season the temperature of the aviary being the same as 
that of the conservatory, the birds require little or no care, except 
giving them food ; while they sing freely at that season, and greatly 
enliven this part of the garden scenery. 

5, Conservatory, with vines under the rafters. The walks are slate, 
the shrubs are planted in a bed of free soil edged with slate, and the 
back wall is covered with different species of Passiflora, and with 
the Tacsonia pinnatistipula. 

6, Camellia-house. The camellias kept in pots ; the rafters covered 
with vines, and the back wall with passifloras and other climbers. 
This house, and also 5, are heated from one boiler, as indicated 
at 64. 

7, Geranium-house, The roof is in the ridge and furrow manner of 
Mr. Paxton. This house, and also 8; 9, and 10, are heated from the 
boiler indicated at 89. 

8, Botanic stove. The roof is in the ridge and furrow manner of 
Paxton. The sides of the pit are formed of slabs of slate ; and 
there is a slate box at e, containing a plant of Miisa Cavendishtt 
with a spike of fruit, two or three of which ripen off weekly. F. is 
a cistern for stove aquatics. There is a plant of Brugmansfa 
suavolens (Daticra arbo rea Ii.) 15 ft. high, with a head 13 ft. in 
diameter. When we saw it, Aug. 10th, 277 blossoms were expanded 
at once, producing an effect upon the spectator under the tree, when 
looking up, which no language can describe. Last year it produced 
successions of blossoms, in one of which 600 were fully expanded 
at one time. This year it has had five successions of blossoms, and 
another is now coming out as the plant expands in growth. There 
is a large Brugmansia coccinea in this house. Both these plants are 
in the free soil. 

9, House for Cape heaths. 

10, Pinery, The roof of this house is in the ridge and furrow manner, 

32 



498 



APPENDIX. 



in imitation of Mr. Paxton's mode ; from which it differs, in having 
the ridge about one-third higher in proportion to the breadth, in 
having the sash-bar deeper, and placed at right angles to the crown 
of the ridge and to the furrow, and in having the panes of twice the 
size which they are in Mr. Paxton's roof. This house was built by 
Mr. Harrison's carpenter, from the general idea given to him ; and 
before he had been to Chatsworth to examine the original house 
with this kind of roof, built there by Mr. Paxton. 




[Fig. 7. Rustic Alcove.} 



11, Cucumber-pit, on M'Phail's plan. 

12, Succession pine-pit, also on M'Phail's plan, in order to be heated 
with dung linings. 

13, Melon-pit. 

14, Dutch cold-pit, for preserving lettuces, cauliflowers, etc., during 
winter. 

15, Tool-house and potting-shed ; the tools regularly hung on irons 
fixed to the ceiling, or set against the wall, or laid on shelves, 
the place for each sort of tool or implement, ropes, etc., being 
painted in large white letters on black boards. The following rules 
are painted on a board which is hung up in the tool-house : — 



APPENDIX. 



490 




500 APPENDIX. 

" Rules to be observed by all persons working on these Premises, Master 

and Man. 

" I. For every tool or implement of any description not returned to 
the usual place at night, or returned to a wrong place not appointed 
for it, or returned or hung up in a dirty or unfit state for work, the 
forfeit is 3d. 

" 11. For every heap of sweepings or rakings left at night uncleared, 
forfeit 3d. 

" III. Every person making use of bad language to any person on 
these premises shall forfeit, for each and every such offence, 6d. 

"IV. Every person found drunk on these premises shall forfeit one 
shilling; and, if he be in regular employment on the premises, he shall 
be suspended from his employment one day for every hour he loses 
through drunkenness. 

"V. Every person who shall knowingly conceal or screen any 
person offending, shall be fined double the amount of the fine for the 
offence he so conceals, in addition to the fine of the offending party. 

" VI. All forfeits to be paid to the gardener, on or before the 
Saturday night following. If any person working regularly on the 
premises fail to cohform to the above rules and regulations, the 
gardener shall be at liberty to stop his fines from his wages. Further, 
should any foreman or journeyman fail to comply with the above rules 
and regulations (with a knowledge of them), the gardener shall be at 
liberty to seize and sell his tools or part of them, to pay such fines, in 
one month from the time the offence was committed. 

" VII. All fines to be expended in a supper, yearly, to all the parties 
who have been fined." 

When these rules were first adopted, the fines were sufficient to 
afford an annual supper with beer, &c. ; but of late the amount has 
been so small, that Mr. Harrison has found it necessary to add to it to 
supply beer, &c., for the supper ; a proof of the excellent working of 
the rules. Mr. Harrison remarks that these rules were established 
about eleven years ago, and that they have been most efl'ective in 
preventing all slovenly practices ; an advantage which he considers as 
thus purchased at a very cheap rate. 



APPENDIX. 501 

16, Mushroom-shed, in which the mushrooms are grown in Oldacre's 
manner. 

17, Wood-yard, shaded by three elm trees. 

18 18, Calf-pens. 19, Cow-house. 20, Tool-house. 

21, Piggeries. 

22, 23, 24, places for fattening poultry, on Mowbray's plan, not, as 
usual, in coops. Between tliis and 25, is a privy for the head 
gardener. 

25, Place for meat for the pigs, which is passed through a shoot to 26. 

26, Two tanks sunk in the ground, covered with hinged flaps, the upper 
edges of which lap under the plate above, so as to shoot off the rain, 
for souring the food intended for the pigs. One tank, which is 
much smaller than the other, is used chiefly for milk and meal for 
the fattening pigs, and sows with pigs; and the other for the wash 
and other refuse from the house, for the store pigs, which, with the 
refuse from the garden, apple-loft, dz,c., amply supplies the store 
pigs and sows, without any purchased food, except when they have 
pigs sucking. The good effect of the fermontution or souring is 
accounted for by chemists, who have found that it ruptures the 
ultimate particles of the meal or other food ; a subject treated in 
detail in the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, vol. vii. p. 445. Ac- 
cording to the doctrine there laid down, the globules of meal, or 
farinaceous matter of the roots and seeds of plants, lie closely 
compacted togetiier, witiiin membranes so exquisitely thin and 
transparent that their texture is scarcely to be discerned with the 
most powerful microscope. Each farinaceous particle is, therefore, 
considered as enveloped in a vesicle, which it is necessary to burst, 
in order to allow the soluble or nutritious part to escape. This 
bursting is effected by boiling, or other modes of cookery ; and also, 
to a certain extent, by the stomach, when too much food is not 
taken at a time ; but it is also effected by the heat and decomposi- 
tion produced by fermentation; and hence, fermented food, like 
food which has been cooked, is more easily digested than uncooked 
or unfermcnted food. Phints are nourished by the ultimate particles 
of manure in the same way that animals are nourished by the 
ultimate particles c^ food ; and hence fermentation is as essential 



502 APPENDIX. 

to the dunghill as cookery is to food. The young gardener, as 
well as the young farmer, may learn from this the vast importance 
of fermentation, in preparing the food both for plants and animals. 

27, Furnace and boiler, for boiling dogs' meat, heating pitch, &c. ; 
placed in this distant and concealed spot, to prevent risk from fire 
when pitch or tar is boiled ; and, when meat is boiled for dogs, to 
prevent the smell from reaching the garden. The reason why it is 
found necessary to have a boiler for tar is, that, most of the farm- 
buildings and garden-offices being of wood, it is found conducive to 
their preservation occasionally to coat them with tar heated to its 
boiling point. 

28, Open shed for lumber. 

29, Dog-kennel; adjoining which is a privy for the under gardeners. 

30, Hay-barn. SI, Lean-to for straw. 

32 32, Places for loaded hay-carts to unload, or to remain in when 
loaded during the night, in order to be ready to cart to town or to 
market early in the morning. 

33, House for lumber, wood, &c. 34, Duck-house. 

35 35, Houses for geese and turkeys. 

36, Open shed for carts and farm implements. 

37, Pond surrounded by rockwork and quince trees. 

38, House for a spring-cart. 39, Coal-house for Mr. Pratt. 

40 40, Places for young chickens. 41, Yard to chicken-houses. 

42, Hatching-house for hens, containing boxes, each 1 ft. square within, 
with an opening in front 7 in. wide and 7 in. high, the top being- 
arched, so that the sides of the opening are only 5 in. high. 

43, Lobby to Mr. Pratt's house. 44, His kitchen. 

45, Living-room. 

46, Oven opening to 47. 

47, Brewhouse, bakehouse, and scullery, containing a copper for brew- 
ing, another for the dairy utensils, and a third for washing, besides 
the oven already mentioned. 

48, Dairy. The milk dishes are of white earthenware ; zinc having 
been tried, but having been found not to throw up the cream so 
speedily and eifectively as had been promised. One zinc dish, with 
handles, is used for clotted cream, which is regularly made during 



APPENDIX. 503 

the whole of the fruit season, and occasionidly for dinner parties, for 
preserved tarts, &c. We observed here small tin cases for sending 
eggs and butter to town. The butter, wrapped in leaves, or a butter 
cloth, is placed in the bottom of a tin box about a foot square, 
so as to fill the box completely ; and another tin box is placed over 
it, the inner box resting on a rebate, to prevent its crushing the 
butter below it. In this latter box, the eggs are packed in bran, 
after which the cover of the outer one is put on, and the whole may 
then be sent to any distance by coach. The dairy is supplied with 
water from a pump in the scullery ; the water being conveniently 
distributed in both places by open tubes and pipes. 

49, Coachman's living-room. 

60, Coachman's kiteljeu, and stairs to two bedrooms over, 

51, Court for inclosing tiie coachman's children. 

52, Lobby to the dairy. 53, Lobby to Mr. Pratt's brew-house. 
54, Cellar. 55, Chicken-yiird. 

56, Farmer's yard. 

57, A gravelled court separating the court-yard, 59, from the stable- 
yard, 56. 

58, Place for slaughtering in. 59, Stable-yard. 

60, Shed for compost, and various other garden materials ; such as a tub 
for liquid manure, in which it ferments and forms a scum on the top, 
while the liquid is drawn off below by a faucet with a screw spigot, 
such as is common in Derbyshire and other parts of the north, which 
admits the water to come out through the under side of tlie faucet 
Here are also kept paint pots, oil cans, boxes, baskets, and a variety 
of other matters. The whole of this shed is kept warm by the heat 
which escapes from the fire-place in 61, and from the back of the 
orchidaceous house, 4. 

61, Fire-place and boiler for heating the orchidaceous house. 

62, Place for arranging garden pots. 

63, Shed, with roof of patent slates, which becomes a cheap mode of 
roofing in consequence of requiring so few rafters, amply lighted from 
tiie roof, and kept warm in the winter time by the heat proceeding 
from the boilers at 61 and 64. This shed contains a potting-bench, 
cktem of water, and compartments for mould ; and, being lofty, it 



504 



APPENDIX. 



contains in the upper part two apartments inclosed by wirework, for 
curious foreign pigeons or other birds. On the ground are set, 
during the winter season, the large agaves and other succulent plants 
which are then in a dormant state, and which are kept in the open 
garden during summer. On the whole, this is an exceedingly con- 
venient working shed; being central to the houses 3, 4, 6, and 6; 
being kept comfortably warm by the boilers ; being well lighted from 
the roof ; and having the two windows indicated at 62, before which 
is the potling-bench. 

64, Fire-place to the conservatory and camellia-house. 

65, Place for keeping food for the rabbits and pigeons, with stairs to 
the pigeon-house, which is placed over it. 




[Fig. 9. View from the Chinese Temple.] 



66, Rabbit-house containing twenty-one hutches, each of which is a 
cubic box of 20 in. on the side. Each box is in two divisions, an 
eating-place and a sleeping-place; the sleeping-place is 8 in. wide, 
and is entered by an opening in the back part of the partition. Both 



APPENDIX. 505 

divisions have an outer door in front; and, in order that the door of 
the sleeping-place may not be opened by any stranger, it is fastened 
by an iron pin, which cannot be seen or touched till the door of the 
eating-place is opened. Mr. Pratt pointed this out to us as an 
improvement in the construction of rabbit-hutches, well deserving 
of imitation wherever there is any chance of boys or idle persons 
getting into the rabbit-house. The rabbits are fed on garden 
vegetables and bran, barley, oatmeal, and hay, making frequent 
changes; the vegetables being gathered three or four days before 
being used, and laid in a heap to sweat, in order to deprive them of 
a portion of their moisture. Salt is also given occasionally with tiie 
bran. Cleanliness, and frequent change of food, have now, for five 
years, kept the rabbits in constant health. It ought never to be 
forgotten, that attenj:ion to the above rules, in partially drying green 
succulent vegetables, is essential to the thriving of rabbits kept in 
hutches ; and, hence, in London and other large towns, instead of 
fresh vegetables, they are fed with clover hay. One of the kinds 
of rabbit bred at Mr. Harrison's is the hare rabbit, mentioned in the 
Encyclopccdia of Agriculture, ^IZbbfihQ flesh of which resembles 
that of the hare in quantity and flavor. Mr. Pratt has fed rabbits 
here, which, when killed, weighed 11 lbs. We can testify to their 
excellence when cooked. 
67, Coach-house, with stairs to hay-loft. 68, Stable. 

69, Mill-house, containing mills for bruising corn for poultry, a portable 
flour mill, a lathe, and grinding-machine for sharpening garden 
instruments and similar articles. In the Angel Inn in Oxford, some 
years ago, a lathe of this sort was used for cleaning shoes, the 
brushes being fixed to the circumference of the wheel, and the shoes 
applied to them, while the wheel was turned round by a tread lever, 
or treadle. 

70, Root-house, containing binns for keeping different kinds of potatoes, 
carrots, parsnips, Jerusalem artichokes, beets, and yellow, French, 
and white turnips, with shelves for onions ; and a loft over, which is 
used as a fruit room. The fruit is kept partly on shelves, and 
partly on cupboard trays. 

71, Store place for beer or ale, which is brewed by Mr. Pratt for the 



506 APPENDIX. 

use of the family in London, as well as Cheshunt; here is also a 
regular staircase to the fruit-room. 

72, Harness-room, properly fitted up with every convenience, and 
warmed by a stove. 

73, A lobby or court to a door which opens to the brook, for the 
purpose of clearing out an excavation made in the bottom of the 
channel, in order to intercept mud, and thus render the water quite 
clear where it passes along the pleasure-ground, and is seen from 
the library window and the grand walk (Fig. 5, p. 492). The whole 
of any mud which may collect in the brook may be wheeled up a 
plank through this door without dirtying the walk. 

74 74, The brook. 

75, Foot entrance to Mr. Pratt's house, the coachman's house, the 
dairy, etc. 

76, Carriage entrance to the stable-court, garden ofBces, farm-yard, etc. 

77, Private entrance to the gardeu, over the rustic bridge shown in 
Fig. 5. 

78, Masses of vitrified bricks and blocks of stone, distributed among 
lawn and shrubs ; among which, large plants of agave, and other 
rock exotics, are placed in the summer season, the pots and tubs 
being concealed by covering them with the stones forming the 
masses of rock-work. Here the semicircular space surrounded by 
rock contains a collection of Himalayan rhododendrons, etc., in pots, 
many of them seedlings which have not yet flowered. 

79 79, American shrubbery, consisting chiefly of rhododendrons, 
azaleas, magnolias, etc., growing in the peat earth kept moist by the 
brook. 

80, American garden consisting of choice American shrubs, and 
American herbaceous plants. In the centre of the circle a handsome 
tazza vase on a bold pedestal. 

81, Two semicircles for dahlias ; the surrounding compartments 
containing a collection of roses. 

82, Garden of florist's flowers. 

83 83, Garden of herbaceous plants, chiefly annuals. The walks in all 
these gardens are edged with slate. The bed 83f contains a collec- 
tion of choice standard roses. 84, Dahlias. 



APPENDIX. 



507 



85, Double ascent of the steps to a mound formed of the earth 
removed in excavating for the pond. From the platform to which 
these steps lead, there is a circuitous path to the Chinese temple ; 
and the steps are ornamented with Chinese vase?, thus affording a 
note of preparation for the Chinese temple. The outer sides of the 
steps are formed of rockwork, and between the two stairs is a 
pedestal with Chinese ornaments. 

86, The Chinese temple, on the highest part of the mount formed of 
the soil taken from the excavation now constituting the pond. The 
view from the interior of this temple is shown in Fig. 9, p. 504. 

87, Rustic steps descending from the Cliinese temple to the walk 
which borders the pond. 88, The pond. 

89, Open tent, with sheet-iron roof supported by iron rods. This 
structure may be seen in the view Fig. 10. 




[Fig. 10. Distunt view of the House and Tent across the Pond] 

90 90, Masses of evergreens and deciduous trees and shrubs. 

91, Grotto, made late last year, not yet completed. It was formerly 
an outer ice-house, but it failed as such. The entrance is surround- 
ed by rockwork, and the interior in the form of a horseshoe, 
furnished with a wooden bench as a seat. Over this grotto, is an 
umbrella tent, as shown in the view Fig. 11. 92, Dahlias. 



508 



APPENDIX. 




[Fig 11. Grotto, with Umbrella Tent over.J 

93, Slip of ground for compost, and various other materials i-equisite 
for the garden and farm-yard ; communicating with the frame- 
ground by the door 94, witli the farm-yard by the gate 95, and with 
the farm by the gate 96. 

94, Door from the frame-ground to the slip behind. 

95, Gate from the slip to the farmyard. 

96, A gate from the slip to the fields of the farm. 

97, Grass field, forming part of the farm. 

Fig. 13, in pp. 510, 511, is a vertical profile of the gardens and 
pleasure ground, with the farmyard, and a small portion of the farm. 
This view shows : — 
1, The house. 2, The domestic offices and yard. 3, Vinery in a small 
garden. 

4, Back entrance to the domestic offices, and the smaller kitchen gar- 
den. On one side of this walk is placed one of Fuller's portable 
ice-boxes. 

5, The smaller kitchen-garden. 

6, Broad border for pits ; and in which there is a cold pit for protecting 
vegetables during winter. 

7, Boundary plantation. 

8, Angular brick wall, for the sake of having different aspects for the 



APPENDIX. 509 

fruit trees which are trained against it ; and for strength, being only 
one brick in thickness for lessening the expense. 

9, Pond in the largest kitchen garden, supplied from the brook by pipes 
with waste pipe to the pond on the lawn. 

10, Filbert plantation. 

1 1, Orchard and boundary plantation. 




[Fig. 12. Covered Seat, of grotesque and rustic Masonry.] 

12, Covered seat, of which a view is shown in Fig. 12. In front of this 
seat there is a mulberry tree of large dimensions, which was trans- 
planted by Mr. Harrison, when it was upwards of 80 years of age. 
The instruments with which a number of large plants, particularly 
shrubs, were transplanted under Mr. Harrison's direction, when the 
grounds were being altered and enlarged, were described for us by 
Mr. Pratt. (See Gardener's Magazine, vol. xi. p. 134.) Mr. Pratt 
kept for many years large plants which had suffered from many 
causes, or which were not immediately wanted, in what he called an 
hospital for these purposes. 

13, A flower garden, in which for several years a large Araucaria brasi- 
litnsis stood out in the centre bed ; but it was killed to the ground 
in the winter of 1837-8. 

14, The rustic covered seat, shown in Fig 14, in p. 513, and of which 
Fig. 15 is an elevation of the back, showing the manner in which 
the barked poles are arranged. 



510 



APPENDIX. 




LI'ig. 13.] 



APPENDIX. 



511 




% 



^ 








,^S> 



'A^h^\ Gii^^ 






* <^-» 







[Fig. 11] 



512 APPENDIX. 

15, Basins of water for aquatics. 

16, Rustic building, of whicii a view is shown in Fig. 16. In the in- 
terior is an alto-relievo of statuary marble, representing a female 
over a funeral vase, surrounded by a sort of broad frame of corals, 
cornua Ammonis, and large mineral specimens of different kinds. 

17, Groups of roses, dahlias, and other ornamental flowers. 

18, Two semicircular beds of roses. 

19, A covered double seat, one half looking towards the roses and the 
other in the opposite direction. In the latter are kept the instru- 
ments for playing at what is called lawn billiards, which is said to 
be a game intermediate between bowls and common billiards. This 
game is little known, but materials for playing at it are sold by 
Messrs. Cato & Son, wire-workers, Holborn Hill, London, who sent 
out with them the following printed rules : — 

" This game, which differs from all others, should be played on a 
lawn about twelve yards square ; the socket with the ring being fixed 
in the centre by a block of wood fixed into the earth. It may be 
played by two or four persons, either separately, or as partners, each 
player having a ball with a cue pointed to correspond. Care must 
be taken to fix the ring at the end of the cue close to the ball before 
striking." 

20, The pond. On the margin of which, at k, is the boat-house seen 
in Fig. 17, in p. 517. 

21, Descending steps through evergreens, from which is seen the dis- 
tant view of the house and the tent, as in Fig. 10, in p. 507. 

22, Dahlia plantation. 

23, Chinese temple, from the interior of which is obtained the view 
shown in Fig. 9, in p. 604. Behind the temple, a little to one side, 
is the grotto shown at 91 in the plan. Fig. 6, in pp. 494, 495, and also 
in the view. Fig. 11, in p. 508. 

24, The situation of the tent shown in Fig. 10. 

25, The different flower and shrub gardens described in detail in the 
plan, Fig. 6, pp. 494, 495. 

26, The hot-houses, pits, frames, farm buildings, &c., shown in Fig. 6. 

27, Grass fields, forming part of the farm. 

28, Point from which the view of the hot-houses, Fig. 8, in p. 499, is 



APPENDIX. 



513 



taken, and also, turning round, the view of tlie house, Fig. 18, in p. 

519. 
29, Secret entrance to tlie grounds. 30, Principal entrance to the 

house. 
31, Entrance to the stable-court and farmyard. 







[Fie;. 14. Rustic Covereil ?cat, of Woodwork.] 

Remarks. — In pointing out the principal sources of tlie professionni 
instruction which a votini,' gardener niav derive from examining this 




[l''ig. 15. Elevation of the iJick.j 

33 



514 



APPENDIX. 



place, Ave shall first direct attention to the garden structures. These, 
whether of the ornamental or useful kind, are executed substantially, 
and with great care and neatness ; while the farm buildings, being 
chiefly of wood, siiow how great an extent of accommodation may be 
obtained without regularity of plan, and without incurring much ex- 
pense. A good exercise fur the young designer would be to distribute 
the same accommodation, properly classed, along the sides of a square 




[Fig. 16. Hermil's Seat, ami Classical Vase.] 



or squares, or along the sides of a parallelogram or polygon, and either 
detached from or connected with the horticultural buildings. 

The manner in which tiie working-sheds are heated by the waste 
heat from the furnaces, in consequence of which, in severe weather, 
much more work will be done in them, and in a better manner, and in 
which they are lighted, so as to serve for protecting certain kinds of 
plants during winter, is worthy of imitation ; as is the mode of heating 
so many different houses from only three boilers. In no garden 
.structures have we seen a more judicious use of the Penrhyn slate ; 



APPENDIX. 515 

paths, edgings, shelves, cisterns, boxes for plants, copings, kerbs, 
partitions, and substitutes for dwarf walls, being all made of it. The 
order and neatness with which all the different tools, utensils, &c., are 
kept in the horticultural and ftirm buildings, are most exemplary, and 
greatly facilitate the despatch of business. 

In the farm buildings, the fittings up of the poultry-houses, the 
rabbit-house, and the dairy and scullery, well deserve attention ; and 
also the arrangement for fermenting the food of the pigs in under- 
ground cisterns, not too warm for summer, nor so cold as to check 
fermentation in winter. The manure of the horses, of the cows, of 
the pigs, of the rabbits, of the pigeons, and of the poultry, is kept in 
separate pits, that it may be used, if desirable, in making up different 
composts. 

There are three liquid-manure tanks, in which the liquid matter, 
which in most fiirmyards is wasted, is fermented, and afterwards mixed 
up with soil for use in the kitchen-garden, or used in forming composts 
for particular plants. The liquid-manure from the stables is kept 
apart from that from the cow-house ; and the general drainings of the 
yard, and of the frame-ground in the kitchen-garden, are fermented by 
themselves. The liquid manure witii which Mr. Pratt waters his plants 
is formed chiefly of tiie sweepings of the pigeon, rabbit, and cow 
houses, with lime ; and is kept in a cask in a close shed (60 in the 
plan Fig. 6, in p. 494, 495), so that the temperature admits of its 
fermenting in winter, as well as in summer : a thick scum rises to the 
top of the cask, and the liquid is drawn out from the bottom as clear 
as old ale. The plants which Mr. Pratt waters with this liquid are 
chiefly those of rapid growth, such as the Datura, Brugman.sia, and 
other soft-wooded tree plants, which, like these, are cut in every year, 
and appear to profit by the stimulating effect of this manure. He 
gives it also, occasionally, to various other plants which appear to want 
vigor ; but has not yet had sufficient experience of its effects, to give 
a list of plants to which it ought to be applied. 

In order to produce as niucli manure as possible, as well for the 
farm as for the garden, all leaves, haulm, and waste vegetable matters, 
are carefully collected, and fermented by the addition of fresh stable 
dung; and heaps of difierent kinds of soils, procured from different 



516 APPENDIX. 

parts of the country, are constantly kept in the slip adjoining the 
frame-ground, ready for use. ^ 

The grounds being nearly level are readily supplied with water from 
the ponds and from the brook ; and there are concealed wells, com- 
municating with these sources by pipes from the brook, in different 
parts of the grounds, and more especially in the kitchen-garden, from 
which the plants can be abundantly watered in the growing season 
with comparatively little labor ; there being six different places, 
including the ponds and brook, from which the gardeners take water, 
and all the strawberries are planted close to the wells in the inner and 
outer walled gardens. 

The kitchen-gardens, the hot-houses, and the store-houses and 
some other structures, can be locked up at pleasure, Mr. Harrison and 
Mr. Pratt being the only persons having complete master keys. Part 
of the outer kitchen-garden is inclosed with an open iron spike fence, 
5 ft. 6 in. high, within which and the inner walled garden are the 
strawberries and choicest gooseberries, figs, etc., and these inclosures 
are opened only by the master keys. The whole, therefore, of the 
wall and best fruit is secured from plunder. 

The beauties of this place, as has been already mentioned, depend 
chiefly on the taste and judgment displayed in laying out the walks, 
and distributing the trees and shrubs; though the choice of a situation 
for the pond, and the mount adjoining it, is also a matter of somo 
consequence. 

The trees and shrubs, being comparatively limited in number, 
consist of one of almost every kind that is to be procured in British 
nurseries, exclusive of those which are common, or not considered 
ornamental. In selecting these, the more rare kinds have been 
procured, and planted quite young; Mr. Harrison and Mr. Pratt 
having found, by experience, that the pines and firs should be planted 
out when not more than of three or four years' growth. When the 
plants have been in pots, the balls should be gently broken with the 
hand, and afterwards all the earth washed away from the roots by the 
application of water. The plant may then be placed on a hill of 
prepared mould, and the roots stretched out, so as to radiate from the 
plant in every direction, and afterwards covered with mould. 



APPENDIX. 



517 




[Fig. 17. lici:it liousf anil A?rivp .Monnt.J 



The masses of trees and shrubs are chiefly on the mount near the 
lake, and along the margin which shuts out tiie kitehen-garden ; and 
in these places the/ are planted in tlie gardenesque manner, so as to 
produce irregular groups of trees, with masses of evergreen and 
deciduous shrubs as undergrowth, intersected by glades of turf. They 
arc scattered over the general surface of the lawn, so as to produce a 
continually Varying effect, as viewed from the walks ; and so as to 
disguise the boundary-, and prevent the eye from seeing from one 
extremity of the grounds to the other, and thus ascertain their extent. 
The only points at which the lawn is seen directly across from the 
drawing-room window are in the direction of I and m, Fig. 13, in pp. 
510, 511 ; but, through these openings, the grass field beyond appears 
united with the lawn ; so that the extent thus given to the views from 
the drawing-room windows is of the greatest assistance to the 
character of the place, with reference to extent. From every other 
part of the grounds, the views across the lawn are interrupted 
by some tree, bush, or object which conceals the boundary ; or, if the 
boundary is seen on one side, as in passing along the walk from 16 by 
18 to 22, there is ample space on the lawn side to keep up the idea 
of extent. 



518 APPENDIX. 

In many situations, this walk, as seen on paper, would be considered 
to be too near the boundary ; but in the grounds the narrow plantation 
from 22 to 18 is of evergreens, chiefly hollies, which already partially 
shut out all view of the boundary or the field, and wliich are ultimate- 
ly intended to spread their upper branches over tlie walk, so as to give 
it a character of shade and gloom, different from any other in these 
grounds. 

In general, it may be laid down as a rule, that the boundary between 
a lawn and the park or field beyond should not be such as to cut the 
landscape, as it were, in two ; and another rule is, that the walks 
should never be so near this fence, or should not be so conducted 
when near it, as to admit of the spectator looking directly across. 
Indeed, in scenery, no rule is generally more applicable than this, viz. 
that all straight lines, whether fences, roads, canals, or rivers, and all 
regular symmetrical objects, such as buildings, should be looked at 
obliquely. Applying tliis rule, therefore, to the scenery between the 
walk and the fence, from 18 to 16, we should say that either the 
direction of the walk ought to be altered, so as to remove it further 
from the boundary, or the boundary extended further into the field ; 
and instead of being bordered by a hedge-like fringe of shrubs, it 
should only be broken here and there by occasional bushes and trees, 
connected and harmonizing in position with other trees beyond the 
fence. If it were desirable to avoid altering the boundary, then we 
should recommend continuing the walk which commences at d near 
19, by n and o o, to f near 16. If there were nothing to see or be 
seen beyond the boundary, then, unless the boundary fence were a 
conservative wall, that is, a wall covered with half-hardy ornamental 
plants, we should still prefer changing the direction of the walk, so as 
to take away from the monotonous appearance of continually skirting 
the boundary. In every place, however small, there ought to be some 
part left which the visitor has not seen, and which may leave the 
impression on his mind, that, however much he has been shown, he 
has not seen everything. We make these observations with great 
deference to Mr. Harrison, who has paid much attention to the subject 
of Landscape Gardening, and shown much practical taste and good 
sense both in that art and in architecture. 



APPENDIX. 



519 



It is, however, right to state that ^th. Harrison accords wiiii our 
general view of the subject, but " defends the wali< in question as an 
exception founded on his objects in making it ; which were, 1st, to have 
a vvalic difl'erent from any otiier in the garden ; and 2d, a walk sheltcr- 
tered from the winter southerly gales, and ornamented by the bloom of 
the laurustinus at that season. It is, ti)erefore, so slightly curved as 
merely to avoid a straight line, and permits an extent of length, not 
found in any other part, to be seen on descending the elevation at the 
east end, or on emerging from wood at the west end, where, when the 
improvements connected with it are finished, iL will enter a dense plan- 
tation, tiie walk going round at the back of the b\ii!ding in that corner. 
The fence would have been eutirely excluded from either near or dis- 
tant view, and the eye carried so as not to catch a view of the grounds 
of the field nearer than one hundred yards or more at the least, if the 
laurustinuscs had not suffered so severely in 1837-38; but these will 
by next year, and by trees already planted along the border, and others 
to be planted irregularly, at intervals, in tlie field near the fence in a 




[Fig. 18. GardcQ Front of Cheshunt Cottage.] 

great measure, Mr. Harrison thinks, obviate the objection made, or at 
least lessen the force of it, as future appearances will, he thinks, 
prove.— VV. H." 



520 APPENDIX. 

The trees and shrubs on the lawn are almost all disposed in the gar- 
denesque manner; that is, so that each individual plant may assume its 
natural shape and habit of growth. The masses are also chietly plant- 
ed in the same style ; and, as the trees and shrubs advance in growtli, 
they are cut in, or tliinned out, so that each individual, if separated 
from the mass to which it belongs, and considered by itself alone, shall 
be a handsome plant. At the same time, in order to produce as much 
variety as possible, the picturesque style of planting, in whicli trees 
and shrubs r.ve so closely grouped together as partially to injure each 
other's growth, occasionally occurs, for the sake of producing variety. 
With the exception of the pines and firs, the other trees have been 
selected more for their picturesque effect and variety of foliage, than 
for their botanical interest. Among these are the Scotdi pine for its 
darkness ; tlie P pulus angulata for its large leaves, and for its proper- 
ty of preserving these till destroyed by severe frost, long before which 
all the other poplars have become naked ; the A'cer macrophyllum, for 
its large leaves; the Montpelier mnple, for its small ones; the Negnndo 
fraxinifolium, for its green-barked siioots ; tiie American oaks, for the 
singular variety in form and color of their foliage; the catalpa, for its 
broad rich yellowish leaves, and its showy blossoms, which appear late 
in the season ; the deciduous cypress; the bonduc, or Kentucky coffee 
tree ; the cut-leaved alder, tiie tulip tree, the purple beech, the purple 
hazel, the Oriental plane, of which there are several fine specimens, the 
variegated sycamore, and other variegated trees and shrubs, which are 
always so beautiful in spring; those thorns and crabs which are beau- 
tiful or remarkable for their blossoms in the spring, and for their fruit 
in autumn ; the Nepal sorbus, so interesting for its large woolly 
leaves, which die off of a fine straw color; the magnolias; the rhodo- 
dendrons, the heaths, the brooms, and the double-blossomed furze, be- 
sides various striking or popular plants, such as the variegated hollies, 
the scarlet arbutus, etc. Among the detached trees and small groups, 
there is scarcely to be met with a single bush or tree that a general 
observer will not find noticeable for something in its foliage, general 
form, flowers, or fruit. The Magnolia grandiflora var. exoniensis 
flowers freely as a standard without any protection, and was not even 
injured by the winter of 1837-8; nor was A'rbutus proccra, also un« 



APPENDIX. 521 

protected. A number of the more rare trees and shrubs, such as 
Araucaria brasiliensis, whicli had stood out eight years, A Cunning- 
hkmtt, Pinus insignis, P. paliistris, P. Girnrdidna, P. canaricnsis, etc., 
were killed during the winter of 1837-8, and a number of others, 
which were severely injured, are now recovering. Mr. Pratt, the head 
gardener, did not begin to prune the trees which were injured till the 
rising of the sap showed the extent of the injury that they had re- 
ceived. After waiting till the middle uf summer, it was found that the 
laurustinus, sweet bay, Ciiine.se privet, and various other shrubs, were 
alive to the lieight of from 3 fc. to 5 ft., and after the dead wood was 
cut out, the plants soon became covered with young shoots and 
foliage. 

The Walks are so laid out and planted as to be sheltered or border- 
ed by evergreens, for the sake of their lively appearance during winter. 
They are also so contrived as to be shaded from the sun by deciduous 
trees during summer ; while these trees being naked during winter, ad- 
mit the sun at that season to dry the grounds. The walks are laid out 
in different directions, in order that, from whatever point the wind may 
blow, at least one walk will be sheltered from it. Tlie greater num- 
ber are in the direction of north and south, because walks in that di- 
rection are best exposed to the sun in the winter season, which is the 
period of the year iu which the proprietor chiefly resides here. It is 
always desirable, in a small place, tliat all the walks siiould be conceal- 
ed from the windows, except that immediately under the eye, and that, 
in walking through the grounds, no path .should be seen except the one 
walked on, and that (except in the case of a straight avenue) only for 
a moderate distance. These rules (derived from the principle of va- 
riety and intricacy) have been carefully attended to by Mr. Harrison, 
and hence the walk from a to b, in the plan. Fig. 13, in pp. 510, 511, is 
concealed by raising the turf on the side next the house higher than on 
the opposite side, wiiile that from c to d is concealed by the bushes and 
trees at c, and more especially by a large rhododendron at ee. The 
walk/g- h is concealed from the walk i, partly by a swell in the surface 
of the turf on the side next, i, but cliiefly by the bushes which are 
scattered along its margin. At g, there is a clump which prevents any 
one on the walk i from seeing the line g /, and any one on the walk g 



522 



APPENDIX. 



/from seeing the line /. In walking along from/ to h, it is clear that 
the trees and slirubs on the left hand will always prevent the eye from 
seeing the walk to any great distanc \ All the other walks through 
the lawn are concealed in a similar manner, so that a person walking 
in the grounds never sees any other walk than that which lies imme- 
diately before him, and, therefore, in looking across the lawn, he never 
can discover the extent either of what he has seen, or of what he has 
yet to see. To form a great number of walks of this sort, and lead 
the spectator over them without showing him more than one walk at a 
time, but taking care, at the same time, to let him have frequent and 
extensive views across tlie lawn, and these views always different, 
constitute the grand secret of making a small place look large. 

The walks are filled to tlie brim with gravel, kept firmly rolled, and 
their grass margins are dipt, but never cut, because the gravel, being 
almost as high as the tnrf, the latter can never sink down, and swell 




[Fig. 19. View across the Water, looking towards the House.] 



APPENDIX. 523 

out over the former. This it invariably does when tlie turf is a few 
inches higher than the gravel, and, hence, paring oft" the part of the 
turf which had projected was originally, no doubt, adopted only as a 
remedy for the evil, though it is now erroneously practised by gar- 
deners as an evidence of care and good keeping. As much of the 
beauty of the walk depends upon the beauty of its boundary, the 
feeling that this boundary is likely to be disturbed every time the walk 
is cleaned, or the adjoining turf mown, is extremely disagreeable. 
The freshly pared turf becomes a spot or i-car in the scene, withdraw- 
ing the attention from tiie walk itself, and from the adjoining grounds, 
to a point, or rather a line, which is in itself of little consequence, but 
which, by the paring, is obtruded on the eye, so as to destroy all 
allusion to stability. We are displeased with the paring of the edges, 
because it conveys the idea that the walks are not finished, or that they 
are liable to be disturbed in this way from time to time, and nothing, 
either in grounds or in buildings, is more unsatisfactory than an 
apparent want of stability or fixedness. It is as much the nature of 
the ground to be fixed and immovable, as it is of trees and shrubs to 
increase in growth, and hence, any operation, such as clipping, which 
seems to stop the growth of the one, is as unsatisfactory to the eye as 
paring, which seems to derange the fixed state of the other. Would 
tiiat we could impress this on the minds of all gardeners and their 
employers ! 

The Pond is of an irregular shape, so arranged as with the assist- 
ance of the island to prevent the whole of it, and consequently its 
limited extpnt, from being seen from any one point in the garden. For 
the same reason, the walk only goes along one side, there being but 
one point on the western side, viz. where the iron seats are close to 
tlie agaves, from which any part oT the pond can be seen. The pond 
is so situated as to form the main feature in the right hand view from 
the drawing-room window, as shown in Fig. 3, in p. 487 ; the wooded 
island (which is shown rather too much in the middle in the plan, 
though, perhaps, not so in reality) disguising the boundary from that 
and every other point of view. The bank of xhc pond on one side is 
rocky, and nearly perpendicular, while on the other it is sloping, and 
partly covered with shrubs. At A", in Fig. 13, in p. 511, there is a boat 



524 APPENDIX. 

house, on the top of which are several large agaves, the common, the 
variegated, and Agave plicatilis ; tlie tubs containing which are so dis- 
guised by rockwork, as to create an allusion to the appearance of these 
plants in their native habitats. The appearance of these agaves, and 
also of a large crassula, is indicated in a view of the boat house, Fig, 
17, in p. 517, and it is only from a seat among these agaves that any 
part of the pond can be seen from this side of it. Had a walk been 
conducted completely round the pond, and near its margin, the charm 
of partial concealment would ha,ve been entirely lost. The high banks 
have been formed with earth taken out of the pond, and these have 
given occasion to a considerable variety in the inclination, as well as in 
the direction, of the walks. The banks are'planted on the same 
principle as the open lawn, that is, with trees and shrubs having 
striking foliage or showy flowers, and with a judicious mi.xture of 
evergreens to give the eflect of cheerfulness in winter. In the water are 
two large plants of Calla asthiopica, Lin., which cover a space of nearly 
5 ft. in diameter ; they have lived there through ten winters without 
any protection, the water being 5 ft. deep, and they flower luxuriantly 
every year. The views across the water, to the house and to the 
other parts of the grounds, are singularly varied, owing to the winding 
direction of the walk, and the consequently changing position of the 
island, and of the trees in the foreground and middle distance. One 
of these views may be seen in Fig. 19, and others have been already 
given in pp. 487, 504, 507, 517. 

The Flower-Garden (25, in Fig. 13, in pp. 510, 511), is laid out, as the 
ground plan indicates, in beds, everywhere bordered with slate ; a 
flower-garden of this kind, with the walks gravelled, having the advan- 
tage of rendering the flowers accessible to ladies immediately after 
rain, when they are often in their greatest beauty, and, at all events, in 
their greatest freshness and vigor, an advantage which is not obtained 
when the beds are on turf. There are also flower-beds on turf in 
other parts of the grounds, but these are filled with roses, dahlias, and 
other large-growing plants in masses, the beauties of which do not 
require to be closely examined. 



APPENDIX. 525 

UI. 

Note oa the treatment of Lawns 

As a lawn is the ground-work of a landscape garden, and as the 
management of a dressed grass surface is still a somewhat ill-under- 
stood subject with us, some of our readers will, perhaps, be glad to 
receive a very ft;w hints on this subject. 

The unrivalled beauty of the " velvet lawns" of England has passed 
into a proverb. This is undoubtedly owing, in some measure, to their 
superior care and keeping, but mainly to the highly favorable climate 
of that moist and sea-girt land. In a very dry climate it is nearly 
impossible to preserve that emerald fresliness in a grass surface, that 
belongs only to a country of " weeping skies." During all the present 
season, on the Hudson, where we write, the constant succession of 
showers has given us, even in the heat of midsummer, a softness and 
verdure of lawn that can scarcely be surpassed in any climate or 
country. 

Our climate, however, is in the middle states one of too much heat 
and brilliancy of sun, to allow us to keep our lawns in the best condi- 
tion without considerable care. Beautifully verdant in spring and 
autumn, they are often liable to suffer from drought in midsummer. 
On sandy soils, this is especially the case, while on strong loamy soils, 
a considerable drought will be endured without injury to the good 
appearance of the grass. It therefore is a suggestion worthy of the 
attention of the lover of a fine lawn, who is looking about for a 
country residence, to carefully avoid one where the soil is sandy. The 
only remedy in such a soil is a tedious and expensive one, that of con- 
stant and plentiful topdressing with a compost of manure and heavy 
soil — marsh mud — swamp muck, or the like. Should it fortunately be 
the case (which is very rare) that the sub-stratum is loamy, deep 
ploughing, or trenching, by bringing up and mixing with the light sur- 
face soil some of the heavier earth from below, will speedily tend to 
remedy the evil. 

In almost all cases where the soil is of good strengtii, a permanent 
lawn may be secured by preparing the soil deeply before finally laying 
it down. This may be done readily, at but little outlay, by deep 



526 APPENDIX. 

ploughing — a good and cheap substitute for trenching — that is to say, 
making the plough follow three times in the same furrow. This, wilh 
manure, if necessary, will secure a depth of soil sufficient to allow the 
roots of plants to strike below the effects of a surface drought. 

In sowing a lawn, the best mixture of grasses that we can recom- 
mend for this climate, is a mixture of Red-top and white Clover — two 
natural grasses found by almost every roadside — in the proportion of 
three fourths of the former, to one of the latter. 

There is a common and very absurd notion current (which we have 
several times practically disproved), that, in oi'der to lay down a lawn 
well, it is better to sow the seed along with that of some grain ; thus, 
starving the growth of a small plant by forcing it to grow with a 
larger and coarser one. A whole year is always lost by this process — 
indeed more frequently two. Many trials have convinced us that the 
proper mode is to sow a heavy crop of grass at once, and we advise 
him who desires to have speedily a handsome turf, to follow the 
English practice, and sow three to four bushels of seed to the acre. If 
this is done early in the spring, he will have a lawn-like surface by 
mid-summer, and a fine close turf the next season. 

After this, the whole beauty of a lawn depends on frequent mowing. 
Once a fortnight at the furthest, is the rule for all portions of the lawn 
in the neighborhood of the house, or near the principal walks. A 
longer growth than this will only leave yellow and coarser stubble 
after mowing, instead of a soft velvet surface. A broad-bladed English 
scythe (to be had at the shops of the seedsman), set nearly parallel to 
the surface, is the instrument for the purpose, and with it a clever 
mower will be able to shave within half an inch of the ground, with- 
out leaving any marks. To free the surface from worm casts, etc., it 
is a common practice to roll the previous evening as much as may be 
mown the next day. 

As the neatness of a well kept lawn depends mainly upon the man- 
ner in which it is mown, and as this again can only be well done where 
there are no inequalities in the ground, it follows that the surface 
should be kept as smooth as possible. Before sowing a lawn, too 
much pains cannot be taken to render its surface smooth and even. 
After this, in the spring, before the grass starts, it should be examined, 



APPENDIX. 527 

* 

and all little holes and irreg;ularitie3 filled up, and the same should be 
looked over at any annual top-dressing that may take place. The 
occasional use of a heavy roller, after rain, will also greativ tend to 
remedy all defects of this nature. 

Where a piece of land is long kept in lawn, it must have an occa- 
sional top-dressing every two or three years, if the soil is rich, or every 
season, if it is poor. As early as possible in the spring is the best 
time to apply such a top-dressing, which may be a compost of any 
decayed vegetable or animal matter — heavier and more abounding with 
marsh mud, etc., just in proportion to the natural lightness of the soil. 
Indeed almost every season the lawn should be looked over, all weeds 
taken out, and any poor or impoverished spots plentifully top-dressed, 
and, if necessary, sprinkled with a little fresh seed. Wood ashes, 
either fresh or leached, is also one of the most efficient fertilizers of a 
lawn. 

We can already, especially in tiic finer places on the Hudson, and 
about Boston, boast of many finely kept lawns, and we hope every 
day, as the better class of countiy residences increases, to see this 
indispensable feature in tasteful grounds becoming better understood 
and more universal. 



IV. 

Note on professional quackery. 

Landscape Gardening, like all other arts, is not free from ignorant 
pretenders to knowledge, who, without a spark of appreciation for the 
beautiful in nature, boldly undertake to remodel, in what they consider 
a tasteful and fashionable style, every piece of natural landscape, 
whether of a simple or highly picturesque character. They succeed in 
leaving behind them, on the places they attempt to improve, indubita- 
ble marks of their footsteps, in a sort of labored ease, and stiff* 
striving after grace ; but they are pretty certain, also, to mar or 
obliterate in a great degree, the natural charm of any fine situation. 
We have seen one or two examples lately where a foreign sol-disant 
landscape gardener has completely spoiled the simple grand beauty of 



528 APPENDIX. 

a fine river residence, by cutting up the breadth of a fine lawn with a 
ridiculous effort at what he considered a very charming arrangement of 
walks and groups of trees. In this case he only followed a mode ' 
sufficiently common and apjn'opriate in a level inland country, like that 
of Germany, from whence he introduced it, but entirely out of keeping 
witji the bold and lake-like features of the landscape which he thus 
made discordant. 

One of this kind of improvers was, some years ago, very cleverly 
satirized by Mr. Peacock, an English reviewer of celebrity, in a comic 
work entitled " Headlong Hall." The latter is the name of the sup- 
posed seat of Lord Littlebrain, who has assembled around him during 
the Christmas feastings an odd party, among whom is Mr. Milestone, 
the landscape gardener, evidently a portrait of " Capability Brown." 
Mr. Milestone has been examining the estate, and, full of his projected 
park, is exhibiting his portfolio of drawings of the proposed improve- 
ments to his host and some of the guests. 

" Mr. Milestone. — This, you perceive, is the natural state of one 
part of the grounds. Here is a wood, never yet touched by the finger 
of taste ; thick, intricate, and gloomy. Here is a little stream, dash- 
ing from stone to stone, and overshadowed wiih these untrimmed 
boughs. 

Miss TenopvIna. — The sweet romantic spot! How beautifully the 
birds must sing there on a summer evening. 

Miss Graziosa. — Dear sister! how can you endure the horrid 
thicket ? 

Mr. Milestone. — You are right. Miss Graziosa ; your taste is correct, 
perfectly en regie. Now, here is the same place corrected — trimmed — 
polished — decorated — adorned. Here sweeps a plantation, in that 
beautiful regular curve ; there winds a gravel walk ; here are parts of 
the old wood, left in these majestic circular clumps disposed at equal 
distances with wonderful symmetry; there are some single shrubs 
scattered in elegant profusion; here a Portugal laurel, there a juniper; 
here a laurustinus, there a spruce fir ; here a larch, there a lilac ; here a 
rhododendron, there an arbutus. The stream, you see, is become a 
canal : the banks are perfectly smooth and green, sloping to the water's 
edge, and there is Lord Littlebrain, rowing in an elegant boat. 



APPENDIX. 529 

Squire Headlong. — Magical, faith ! 

Mr. Milestone. — Here is another part of the ground in its natural 
state. Here is a large rock, with the mountain-ash rooted in its fissures, 
overgrown, as you see, with ivy and moss, and from tiiis part of it 
bursts a little fountain, that runs bubbling down its rugged sides. 

Miss Tenorina. — O how beautiful ! How I should love the melody 
of that miniature cascade ! 

Mr. Milestone. — Beautiful, Miss Tenorina ! Hideous. Base, com- 
mon, and popular. Such a thing as you may see anywhere, in wild 
and mountainous districts. Now, observe the metamorphosis. Here 
is the same rock, cut into the shape of a giant. In one iiand he holds 
a horn, through which the little fountain is thrown to a prodigious 
elevation. In the other is a ponderous stone, so exactly balanced as 
to be apparently ready to fall on the head of any person who may 
happen to be beneath,* and there is Lord Littlebrain walking under it. 

Squire Headlong. — Miraculous, by Mahomet I 

Mr. Milestone. — This is the summit of a hill, covered, as you 
perceive, with wood, and with tliose mossy stones scattered at random 
under the trees. 

Miss Tenorina. — What a delightful spot to read in, on a summer's 
day ! The air must be so pure, and the wind must sound so divinely 
in the tops of those old pines ! 

Mr. Milestone. — Bad taste, Miss Tenorina. Bad taste, I assure 
you. Here is the spot improved. The trees are cut down ; the stones 
are cleared away ; this is an octagonal pavilion, e.vactly on the centre 
of the summit, and there you see Lord Littlebrain, on the top of the 
pavilion, enjoying the prospect with a telescope. 

Squire Headlong. — Glorious, egad ! 

Mr. Milestone. — Here is a rugged, mountainous road, leading 
through impervious shades ; the ass and the four goats characterize a 
wild uncultured scene. Here, as you perceive, it is totally changed 
into a beautiful gravel road, gracefully curving through a belt of limes, 
and there is Lord Littlebrain driving four-in-hand. 

Squire Headlong. — Egregious, by Jupiter ! 

Mr. Milestone. — Here is Littlebrain Castle, a Gothic, moss-grown 

* See Knight on Taste. 



530 APPENDIX. 

structure, half-bosomed in trees. Near the casement of that turret 
is an owl peeping from the ivy. 

Squire Headlong. — And devilish vi'ise he looks. 

Mr. Milestone. — Here is the nevv house, without a tree near it, 
standing in the midst of an undulating lawn ; a white, polished 
angular building, reflected to a nicety in this waveless lake, and there 
you see Lord Littlebrain looking out of the window." 



V. 

Note on Walks and Roads. 



In our remarks on walks and roads, we omitted to say anything of 
the best manner of making gravel walks. We may here state that, 
where it can easily be procured, pure pit gravel is preferable to all 
other materials for this purpose, as it binds almost at once, and becomes 
a firm and solid mass nearly as hard as a stone floor. Beach gravel, 
not having any mixture of loamy particles, does not become hard 
until after a good deal of rolling, and a little loam is often mixed with 
it to secure its tenacity and firmness. A very thin coat of gravel will 
render a walk superior to a path which consists only of the natural 
soil, and such surfacing, in our dry climate (though it frequently re- 
quires renewing), is often suflicient for distant walks, or those little 
used except in fine weather. But the approach road, and all walks imme- 
diately about the dwelling, should be laid at least a foot thick with 
gravel, to insure dryness, and a firm footing at all times and seasons. 
The lower six inches is better executed when filled with small stones 
— placing the six inches of gravel on the top of these, and there are 
few new places where this is not a convenient mode of getting rid of the 
small stones that require to be taken out of the gardens, and various 
parts of the premises undergoing improvement. 

A word may be said here with regard to the color of gravel. Un- 
doubtedly in almost all examples in the natural style of landscape 
gardening slate-colored gravel, the kind common in nearly all parts of 
the country, is much the most agreeable to the eye, being unobtrusive, 
just differing snffieiently with the soil to be readily recognised as 



APPENDIX. 531 

artistical in its effect, while it harmonizes with the color of the ground, 
and the soft tints of vegetation. A thirst after something new has 
induced some persons, even in the interior, to substitute, at considera- 
ble cost, the white gravel of the sea-shore for the common pit or 
beach gravel. The change, we think, is, in point of taste, not a happy 
one. The strong white of this gravel, as the painters would say, 
disturbs the tone of a simply beautiful landscape, whose prevailing lints 
are those of the broad lawn and rich overshadowing trees ; and the 
glare of these snowy white pebbles is not, we confess, so pleasing in 
our eyes as the cooler and more quiet color of the slate or grey 
gravel. When we add to this, that these sea-side pebbles seldom or 
never pack or bexiome firm, it would appear very evident that they are 
far less suitable for walks than the common material. The only situa- 
tion where this brilliant gravel seems to us perfectly in keeping, is in 
the highly artificial garden of the ancient or geometric style, or in the 
symmetrical terrace flower garden adjoining the house. In these 
instances its striking appearance is in excellent keeping with the 
expression of all the surrounding objects, and it renders more forcible 
and striking the highly artiiicial and artistical character of the scene; 
and to such situations we would gladly see its use limited. 

The labor and expense of keeping the roads and walks clean, and 
free from weeds, in a place of large extent (and some of our seats 
have now several miles of private roads and walks within their own 
limits), is a very considerable item of the annual outlay of a country 
residence. At a recent visit to Blithewood, we saw in operation there 
a very simple implement, invented by R. Donaldson, Esq., the intelli- 
gent proprietor of that beautiful place, which promises to be of im- 
portant service as a labor-saving machine in cleaning roads and walks. 
In Fig. 20 is shown a sketch of this implement, in use. In general 
appearance it is not unlike the frame of a wheelbarrow, except that 
instead of the two legs it has two iron bars, reaching down to the 
earth, and connecting with a transverse blade, about three inches 
wide, which is set nearly parallel with the ground. The handles of 
the implement are held by a workman, like those of the common 
double-tailed plough, while the horse which draws it is led or ridden 
by a boy. With this implement, which is three and a half feet wide, 



532 



APPENDIX. 



all the weeds in the space it covere are cleared from a road or walk as 
rapidly as a horse can walk forward, and it is only necessary to follow 
with a rake and remove the weeds, and the whole is in good order. 

On the lower portion of the upright bars, where they rise from the 
blade, there is an edge for cutting the turf on the sides of the walk, 
which performs its work very well and rapidly — the horse being care- 
fully led ; and it will, no doubt, answer perfectly for this purpose, in 
all those walks and roads not directly around tlie house, or where the 
greatest nicety is not required. 




[Fig. 20. Implement in use at Blitiiewood for cleaning 
gravel roads.] 



The simplicity of 
this machine, the very 
small cost at which 
it is made, and the 
great saving of ex- 
pense and labor 
which it secures will, 
we think, render it a 
valuable acquisition 
to all owners of large 
places, or to those 
wishing to keep up a 



long series of private roads and walks in tlie picturesque manner. For 
smaller gardens and grounds, where the most scrupulous nicety is 
observed, there is, of course, nothing that will supersede the common 
hoe, rake, and roller. 



THE END. 



K 8Z6 



